


The Best Thing

by bluefreon



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Fraternities & Sororities, Geek Love, Humor, Lacrosse Team, M/M, Romance, Shotgunning, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 12:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/940258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluefreon/pseuds/bluefreon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Hale has pretty much got it all: a scholarship at a prestigious university, the title of youngest lacrosse captain for his team, and a family who loves and supports him. He isn’t interested in anything more other than those three. </p><p>That is until a certain dorky freshman catches his eye and he realizes that his life could get even more interesting.</p><p>[**IMPORTANT**: HEAVILY EDITED CHAPTER 8 as of July 22, 2014. Please read /again/ if you read the first version. Thanks!]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This little baby of mine started around March 2013, when I saw [this prompt](http://aspecialplaceinhale.tumblr.com/tagged/marianas%20trench) while I was trolling around the internet. I was so addicted to the song Haven't Had Enough (by Marianas Trench) that I took it upon myself to invest my /everything/ to make this possible. Couple of months (and an nth amount of feels) later, I'm still not done. But! am posting this since a couple of my packmates threatened me with glares and a beta-status if I don't post it soon. Thus. :))
> 
> A serious WIP, but is2g I will finish this (hopefully) before the year ends. I'm actually halfway done but I wanna see if this will sit well with the general fanbase. Kudos and comments are well-appreciated! Thanks for stopping by! 
> 
> \--
> 
> [DISCLAIMER (Please read beforehand) : the events of this story are purely fictional. Locations have been adapted and used accordingly, and are solely based on web research. I have never attended the campus indicated here, nor have I set foot anywhere near it. Any inaccuracies found would be my fault.
> 
> Organizations and their inner workings are based on web research and personal accounts or experiences. I tried my very best to make it as authentic as possible, but of course had to change parts as I saw fit.
> 
> Any similarities with regards to the names of other characters are purely coincidental and unintentional. ]

 

“Finals are getting nearer...”

“So is the elimination round”

“I _know_ that. But finals are a week before the game, so we have to concentrate on that first” he shot a serious look at his team “I don't want _anyone_ getting held up by make-up tests or projects” he glared at his sub-captain beside him “especially you, Jackson. Your scholarship's on the line”

“It always is” was the reply

“ _Exactly my point_. So don't fuck up your finals or I swear I am throwing you out of the team, understand?”

There was a curt nod “Yessir”

“Good. Now, I'll be adjusting practice time and duration to give you guys enough time to rest and keep up with schoolwork and other things on your shit list. We'll just talk about that later during practices” he checked his watch before continuing “Dismissed. Danny, Jackson, with me”

The entire team dispersed and left. Everyone headed for the main campus, save for three people. Jackson nudged Danny on the ribs and gestured at their captain, who was busy stuffing a book in his backpack. The tall junior merely shrugged at the sub-captain, as they stood a foot away from their leader. Both waited until the bag was zipped up, swung over a shoulder, and the owner turning to face them.

“I presume my top officers don't have anything on their shit list for the rest of the day?”

The pair looked at each other with blank looks. Danny was the first to answer. “My presentation for management class got moved to next Thursday, so I'm pretty much clear”

“That's good to hear. And Jackson?”

“What the fuck is this again, Derek?”

“I see that there's a problem. Well boys, I just need your help in fixing up the schedules. _I am serious Jackson_ ” he drawls, just when the other was about to open his mouth in protest. “It's just a quick run through of everyone's schedules for now, to see when the best time is to start practices”

“But isn't the current schedule good enough?” Danny asked

“That's...exactly my problem. There's a conflict of schedule due to Andy's sudden involvement with a month-long clean-up drive...”

“Botwin? What did he do again?” Jackson spoke

“To make it short, fraternity prank wars. He's paying with extra after-school services” the captain shook his head as he chuckled a bit. “I already spoke with the Master Councilor of their opposing fraternity. He was gracious enough to accept a deal concerning Andy’s…punishment”

“And the Hale charm strikes again…” Danny supplied, grinning widely

Derek shook a dismissing hand “either that, or I was able to persuade him that it’s a waste of time to drag a punishment for too long. In the end, it’s just a portion of the problem” he started to walk towards the campus, not bothering to check if his two companions followed.

“What else is there?”

“It’s nice of you to take interest, Jackson. As it involves you”

“M-me?”

The captain glanced behind him “Yes, you. And also me. The program…”

“Oh no. That’s never good. What do those fu—”

“Will you shut up and listen?!” Derek growled out, spinning around swiftly and grabbing the other’s shoulder. Jackson raised an eyebrow at him but kept his mouth shut. “Now, the program heads have decided to join the Freshman Spring Edge, and thus….”

“…the scholars have to do as they fucking say” Jackson finished in a dull tone. “But wait! Isn’t that held _during_ spring break? That’s after the game! I don’t see the problem, really”

“The event is _after_ the game. But preparations are _during_ finals week”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Danny asked, interrupting their banter. The pair looked at him and he shrugged “well, isn’t it?”

Jackson shook off Derek’s hand then said “he has a point. It’s illegal to hold any sort of campus activity on the week of finals.”

“It’s illegal for _students_. But this is the program we’re talking about. Administration can do _anything_ they want”

“Point”

“Well, that is why I need you boys to help me figure it out. Me and Jackson won’t be able to worm our way out, so we’ll have to draft up a working and _possible_ schedule for the team” he clapped a hand on each of his officers’ shoulders then continued walking.

“And when do we do this?”

“Now. Come on. Let’s grab lunch at The Den. It’s on me” Derek said, jerking his head towards the campus. “And nope, no escape. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that your schedules are clear until 4pm at the least” he adjusted the grip on his bag as he went along.

“He’s such a dick” Jackson murmured, watching Derek go and following him a few steps behind.

“There’s a reason why he’s the pack’s captain” Danny replied, smiling a bit to himself.

 

\---

 

The first floor hallway of the Evans building was filled with students milling around, most of whom belonged to the College of Letters and Science. Groups of students sat together at various corners, lost in mindless chatter or thoughtful study.

There was only one person who seemed to enjoy peace and solidarity beside one of the railings. He had a pair of headphones on as he was furiously scribbling on a notebook. His backpack was resting beside him with its front flap pulled down to reveal its contents to anyone who would walk by. He paused from his writing then looked up, staring idly at the open space in front of him.

Suddenly, a pair of legs came into his view and he frowned at the sight. He trailed his eyes up and saw his bestfriend, who appeared to be saying something. He slid his headphones off then realized that he was being _shouted_ at.

“STILES!!!”

“Wh-what?”

“I've been calling you since god-knows-when!”

“Really?”

The other boy rolled his eyes then moved to sit beside him on the floor. “What are you up to? And dude, _why are you wearing those dorky glasses?_ ”

“And, the sudden interest in my life and work. How are you, Scott?” he grinned, as he set his pen down then promptly closed his notebook. “And _excuse you_ , I apologize if my eyes have finally suffered the glare of laptop and televisions screens. It’s not so bad anyway; I just need to wear them when I’m working”

“I’ve never seen you wear those”

“I just got them during winter break. And, you must’ve missed what I just said: _I wear them when I’m working_ , which, you have successfully interrupted as you just stood there. Do you know how hard it is to jot down a good idea?”

“Whatever dude. I’m sure you can get back to that later anyway” Scott scratched his head then banged it at the railing behind him. “Geez, I am so _tired_. There are hundreds of things to learn, understand, _and memorize_ in my classes”

“Hey, welcome to college! Have you stopped by to smell the campus life?” Stiles said, spreading his arms wide. Scott shoved one of his arms down playfully

“I know. I mean, I never expected college to be this difficult. Sometimes, I question my life choices when I was back in high school”

“Yeah. Like your ambitions to be a veterinarian?”

“Exactly! I didn't think it would be this hard”

“Well, I did tell you that anything _medical_ related was going to be tough. But hey, think of it this way...” he clapped a hand over his friend's shoulder “if your mom could do it, then so can you”

“Wow Stiles. That sounds like a smart thing to say” he leaned forward then sighed “hey, wanna head out for lunch?”

“Uh, lemme think...” Stiles checked his phone then did a mental check. “Yeah, I think I can spare some time for lunch. Depends where we’re going though”

“Let’s go then! I wanted to try out this place my classmate was saying. It’s nearby, so I can get you back in time. What time is class anyway?”

“I have a three-thirty lecture back at Barrows Hall. How about you?”

“Nope. Next class is at six. I stayed at the library then walked to get here”

“Seriously?” Stiles exclaimed, as his friend just shrugged. “Right, let’s get moving then. Don’t want to be late for class with Dale” he dumped his notebook in his bag before zipping it closed and standing up. He led the way out towards the back of the building, where there was a small parking space for vehicles. Pushing the door open, he looked behind him then asked “where are we going anyway?”

“This small café just outside the campus” Scott replied

“Outside the campus?”

“If it makes you feel better, it’s just behind the University House. You know where that is, right?”

“Yes, yes. Good thing because I don’t trust your sense of direction. At all” he walked around his old, blue jeep and unlocked the door. He sat in the driver’s seat then unlocked the passenger’s side for Scott. “So, University House it is?” Stiles asked, glancing at his friend. Scott merely nodded, a stupid grin on his face as they drove out of the parking lot and to the main road.

Stiles couldn’t stop the grin that was slowly forming on his face. Some things never change.

 

\---

 

“Oh god these are just _a goddamned blessing_ ” Stiles said, as he ate another handful of curly fries.

“See? Aren’t you glad we came here? The price is a bit steep, but it’s quite manageable” Scott said, chomping on his burger. He watched as his friend ate his food, then almost choked on his burger when Stiles successfully stuffed his face with fries and looked absolutely ridiculous.

“Dude. Slow down. We have a lot of time to digest our food” Scott said, shaking his head then pulling the basket of fries towards him. Stiles was about to protest, but he was still busy chewing his way through the mouthful of potatoes. He was able to swallow his food after a few seconds, then heaved a breath.

“These fries. I don’t even have the right words” Stiles said, gesturing towards the basket of fries that he grabbed back from Scott’s side of the table. He got his milkshake then took a long sip, as he surveyed the place.

The café was not as small as he imagined at first. In fact, it could be mistaken as a restaurant if not for the long bar that obviously served coffee, and the strategically-placed socket plugs on the floor near most tables. Their table was close to the front part of the place, and Stiles was seated facing the bar. He watched as one of the servers had a phone cradled between his shoulder and ear, as he took out a carton of milk from the cabinets. He then slid the phone into his apron pocket then set down two cartons by the sink. The man suddenly gestured to his two other companions, as they all nodded then finished up their work.

All of a sudden, there was this long, loud sound that echoed throughout the café. It took Stiles a minute to understand what was happening: the three servers were _howling_ , with backs straight and heads tipped up towards the air. Stiles shot Scott a bewildered look then asked “what the heck is happening?”

“I think I know why” Scott answered, as he nodded towards the doorway.

Stiles spun around and saw the cause of the commotion: three guys, probably upperclassmen, just entered the café and stopped at the doorway. The one in the middle, who wore a black leather jacket, had a smirk on his lips as he watched the impromptu performance. He then raised a hand, and the howling stopped.

“Welcome to _The Den_ , Alpha Hale” the three servers said in unison.

“Guys. This has got to stop sometime” the man in the leather jacket answered, as he walked forward towards the bar. His two companions followed him wordlessly. Derek stopped in front of the bar and leaned a bit, folding his arms on the surface casually.

“Chapter?” he asked

“Phi Beta Kappa, Sir

“I see. And your Grand Master now is...” he turned towards his companion with dark-brown hair and raised an eyebrow

“That would be Kevin Hastings” was the brief answer

“Ahh, Kevin from GSE. Yes, yes” Derek nodded, turning back to the trio. “Pledgees for this year?

“Yes, Sir” the one in the middle answered

“I figured. Well, I'll make sure to keep Kevin posted of his pledgees... _”_ he then eyed the small nameplates pinned on their aprons “Miguel, George, and Jack”

“Thank you, Sir” the one named George said, bowing his head a bit

“Right. Table. Do you have a booth?”

“Certainly, Sir. Please follow me” Miguel answered, grabbing a couple of menus and leading them towards a booth at the corner.

Stiles turned back to Scott, who had resumed eating like nothing happened. “Dude!” he leaned forward and lowered his voice, “what the heck was that?" 

“What?”

“ _That!”_ Stiles rolled his eyes, then did a sidelong glance towards the corner table.

“Oh. Them?” Scott answered. He dusted off his hands then tapped his hand on the table “They're the higher-ups of the wolves”

“The wolves? Is that like a frat name or something?”

“Geez Stiles, have you been stuck with all your paperwork that you have _no idea_ who I'm referring to?”

“Hey! That's not...entirely true”

Scott just gave him a look.

“Fine. Maybe I was. The leather jacket guy looks familiar, actually”

“Of course he is. That man is _everywhere._ I am very much surprised that you don't know who he is” Scott continued, drumming his fingers on the table. “He's Derek Hale, captain of the Direwolves, _also known as_ the school's varsity lacrosse team”

“And the other two goons?”

“G-goons?” Scott exclaimed _,_ mildly offended. “Stiles. I called them _higher-ups_ for a reason, y'know”

“So, who are they?”

Scott leaned back on his chair, lowering his voice amidst the buzz around them “The dark-skinned one is Danny, goalie and appointed scribe of the wolves. The other one is Jackson, sub-captain and the cockiest bastard in the team”

Stiles had to laugh at the last statement “'bastard' huh? I wonder where you get your information”

Scott merely shrugged then grinned “can't help it if my entire dorm is known to perpetually hate the existence of the Direwolves”

Stiles didn't reply, choosing to turn his attention towards the corner booth. He watched as Derek and his companions engage in a deep conversation, while gesturing at the mess of papers strewn across the table. Danny was writing something on a notebook, while Jackson was jabbing a finger at one of the papers in front of him. Their captain had a relaxed aura around him, leaning comfortably on his seat with one arm resting on the windowsill by his right side. His eyes wandered around, seemingly bored with the discussion.

That was until his eyes drifted towards Stiles' direction _and stayed there_. Stiles blinked a couple of times before he understood what was happening.

Derek Hale was looking _at him_ , seemingly amused at the amount of attention he was getting. The corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk, before he turned away then continued talking to his sub-captain.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Stiles turned his attention back to his bestfriend, who started a debate on which World of Warcraft race was the best. Grateful for the distraction, Stiles immediately replied with “oh Scott. You know that the Worgen are the best of the best”

“Not!”

“Is so. Do you remember how many times I've saved your ass from impending doom way back in high school?”

Scott chuckled “good ol' times”. He suddenly bolted upright “Hey, I forgot to tell you: there's going to a small tournament in my dorm. Open to anyone of course. What do you say?” he waggled his eyebrows

“Weekend?”

“Friday night”

“You got yourself a deal, buddy” Stiles said, raising his milkshake then taking a sip. “Although, I still prefer DotA over WoW”

“Well, that can be arranged. Once I get my laptop fixed...”

“You've been saying that since the start of the term! It's almost the end of classes! I don't even know how you survived...” Stiles said, then took out his phone and pressed the side button. “Oh shit. Is that the time?” He stood up immediately, hitting his knee on the edge of the table. He winced, as he rubbed the pain away. “Dude, gotta go. Need a lift?” he grabbed his backpack and started to walk towards the door.

“Yup!” Scott answered, doing the same. They left, and Stiles stole a backwards glance at the wolves before the doors shut behind him.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! You might be thinking ‘woah! Such a quick update~!’ but I’d like to apologize in advanced, since I’m planning to update /much/ later. I haven’t properly chopped the fic into chapters, and I still need to go over final revisions and such. Won’t promise you guys an update in a few days, but maybe in a couple of weeks (if I’m still alive after the end of the month and all that)
> 
> Please don’t mind the sudden change in POV, since it’s a style that I wanted to try here. Game references and more characters in this chapter! Also, Derek gets even more curious. Sit back and enjoy :)

  
  
Class with Professor Dale was the most boring subject ever. Stiles found it a miracle that he has _never_ fallen asleep in any of this Sociology classes, as compared to each one of his classmates. Somehow, Stiles has occupied himself between taking down class lecture notes and doodling on his notebook.

By some stroke of luck, he was able to survive yet another hour of dull lecture and raspy voice. He shut his notebook with a definitive _thud_ before he picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. Gathering his notebook in one arm, he rushed out of the room ahead of the crowd without really bothering where he was going. Stiles raised a hand to take his glasses off when he suddenly crashed into something.

“What the hell?”

More like _someone_.

Stiles looked up and realized that he just collided into a person, and thankfully _not_ a post. He was about to mumble his usual string of apologies when he recognized the sharp face and brown hair set up in neat spikes.

“Watch where you're going, dork”

“Sorry! Really sorry about that...I—”

“You should be sorry! You could've—”

“Jackson!” someone called out from down the hallway

Stiles turned towards the voice and spotted Derek Hale, who had just finished talking with one of the professors. Derek glanced at him briefly before he continued, “Leave the guy alone, Jackson. We have to go”

Jackson shot a glare towards his captain before he walked away. Just when Stiles thought that everything was over, he noticed Derek give him a look then asked “what's wrong? Lost your glasses along the way?”

By sheer impulse, Stiles covered his face with a hand and felt his glasses push further up his nose. Derek was still watching him so he immediately put his hand down and said, “Nope. Still here”

He received a weird look before he heard “I thought so. Better watch out where you're going next time” with an air of finality. Derek turned and walked after his sub-captain, shoving Jackson’s shoulder once he got nearer.

Stiles stood there, watching them as they turned the corner and were gone. He finally removed his glasses then rubbed his eyes. “What just happened?” he asked himself.

He didn't have any answer to his own inquiry, even as he left the building to go to his next class.

 

–--

 

A few days later, Stiles was walking out of his department building and glaring at the sidewalk. He had just finished a two-hour class in Media and Politics, which was a really great subject except for the absolutely _tiresome_ substitute who stood in for Professor Van Peel. Earlier, he had a wire problem back in his dorm room when he tripped over several computer and phone wires scattered all over the floor. His roommate, Philip, was immersed in a group project involving wires and circuit boards and didn't fix up his wires before he left for class. It took Stiles a good ten minutes to untangle himself from everything and head on to the showers.

He took out his phone from his pocket as he briskly walked to the parking lot. It suddenly rang, and he saw Scott's face flash on the screen before he hit “answer”.

“Where the heck are you?”

“Me? I am about to enter my car to dump my stuff, then walk towards you guys” Stiles answered, throwing his bag at the back seat of his jeep.

“Drive over here, Stiles” he heard Scott say

“What? Is there a parking space there?”

“Oh right. Hang on...” Stiles listened as Scott asked the same question to someone, then replied “Yeah. You can park near Isaac's dorm. Swing by Moonglade first, then we'll direct you to the lot”

Stiles had to laugh at his friend's term “We're calling 'The Glade' _Moonglade_ now?”

“Heeeey!” Scott protested “It's a great idea! Lots of trees and few people pass by here”

He started the ignition and let the jeep idle for a few while “Alright man. I'll see you in a bit, okay?”

“Hurry up!” Scott said, before he disconnected the call.

Stiles took the nearest parking exit then immediately turned on the next right. Taking a left, he passed by the old clock tower, stopping before an intersection and going straight towards the narrow path. Paulsen Lane was really intended for bicycles and the occasional quad bikes or golf carts. However, he has witnessed a couple of pick-up trucks and jeeps race through the lane, usually carrying a couple of rambunctiousstudents heading towards god-knows-where.

He didn't really care that he was still a freshman, and probably didn't have any right to bend traffic rules and such. But this didn't prevent him from flooring the gas pedal and speeding by.

Stiles finally reached Moonglade, a low hill near one of the music halls, and stuck his head out his window to call out his friend “Hey Scott!”

The boy was sitting on the grass with two more guys, and he looked around when he heard his name. He stood up and walked towards the road. “Stiles! Hey! Parking's right there” and he pointed straight, and Stiles had to look to his right. He saw a couple of cars parked neatly inside a wide cul-de-sac. “You sure I can park there?” he asked Scott.

“Well, there are cars there, right? Besides, you can always say that you have a meeting or something with one of the dorm residents”

“Got it. I'll be right back” Stiles turned right to enter the parking, and stopped beside a green sedan. He shut off the engine and stepped out, locking the door behind him. He looked at the sign by one of the pathways: _reserved for guests of/and residents of Stephens Hall_ , before he headed towards The Glade.

“So, what's all this about?” he announced, reaching the group. He was immediately tackled by Scott.

“Stiiiiiiiiles!”

“Hey man. I missed you too” he tried to wiggle away from his childhood friend, until he was able to pry Scott's arms away.

“Stiles. You remember Isaac right?” he gestured to the boy with brown, curly hair. Stiles nodded when Isaac waved at him. He met Isaac through Scott, since they were taking a lot of Gen Ed classes together, coming from the same department and all that. He was also a foreign student, growing up in London until his parents split up and his mother decided to move to America last year.  Since he wasn't of age yet, he had to relocate here too.

The other guy was completely unfamiliar though, and just when Stiles was about to ask, Scott beat him to it. “This is Matt, my fellow dormer. We sort-of met by accident, actually”

Matt looked up from his camera that he was playing around with. “Scott was being sneaky around the dorm. My door was wide open and he walked by, seeing me in the process of unboxing my Pandaren Brewmaster figure”

“Woah...” Stiles had to say, completely amazed. “Do you collect them?”

“Nah. I actually just started. The Brewmaster was a gift from my older brother, when he found out that I got in the Engineering program”

“Engineering, huh? My dad wanted me to take that up, but he respected my decision to take up Media Studies instead” Stiles said, shifting his foot on the grass.

“But hey, you're pretty good in what you do anyway right?” Scott chirped in

Stiles just shrugged, then tried to change the subject. “What's the agenda all about anyway?” he said, nodding towards the small box in front of Isaac.

“Gentlemen” Isaac said, his voice a bit too formal for his looks. “We are gathered here today for a serious match of DnD”

“Don't you mean _practice session_?” Matt said, storing his camera back in his bag.

“Whatever” Isaac said, opening the brown box in front of him and revealing the contents. His three companions all edged closer to peer inside. There were rolls of paper, a few thin books, stacks of cards held together by a rubber band, and another small transparent box. Isaac reached in and took out the small box, popping the lid open and picking something.

“Hey Stiles. Scott told me that you left yours back at home, and I have an extra so here” Isaac mentioned. Stiles looked up just in time to see a tiny, blue object fly towards him. He reached up but to no avail: the piece just flew past him.

“Dude...” Stiles groaned, turning towards Isaac. 

“Better get that, Stilinski. I'm giving that d20 to you. Your loss if you can't find it” he made a shooing motion with his hands.

At this, Stiles turned and tried to locate the die. He jogged down the slope and started searching for it. He reached the pavement and instantly spotted the colored piece a bit further down. However, when he was about to walk towards it, a black boot covered it from his view.

He slowly looked up, and took note of the black jeans, green shirt, and stone-washed gray jacket, plus the unmistakable growth of stubble before he cursed inwardly. He watched as the captain of the wolves moved his foot, picked up the d20 and started to examine it closely.

“You…”

“Yours?” Derek looked at him as he held up the small, blue piece of plastic that had tiny white numbers on each side.

“Y-yeah. Can I have it back?” Stiles said, hating himself for his voice being reduced to a squeak.

“Of course” he made a notion of throwing the piece upwards, but decided against it at the last second. He took a few steps forward, and Stiles stepped back a bit when he got too close.

“Here” Derek said, holding his hand out. The other looked at him skeptically before he rolled his eyes and smirked “I’m giving it back. Don’t you want it?”

Stiles raised his hand, palm upturned, and felt a slight brush of skin as Derek carefully handed him the d20. Stiles clenched his hand into a fist, securing the item inside his palm.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful next time?”

“Wha—?” Stiles raised his head, seeing Derek look at him intently and _oh god he’s staring at me again._

“Well?” Derek said expectantly

“Uh. Yeah. But! It’s not really my fault! It was my friend’s fault! His aim was a bit off…and I was doing something then he just _threw_ it before I got the chance to look…” Stiles started to ramble, because he has a habit of doing so when he’s nervous.

Derek narrowed his eyes, before the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk. “What is that anyway?” he asked. He was a bit unsure why he bothered to engage in a conversation, but he was just too curious.

“E-excuse me?”

The captain rolled his eyes before he shifted his weight on another foot “Are you deaf too? I’m asking you what that… _thing_ is” he gestured at Stiles’ hand

“Oh. OH! You mean this one?” Stiles said brightly, holding the die in between two fingers. “It’s a d20”

“ADD?”

At this, Stiles laughed. _Loud._ Derek had to look around him to see that there was _no one_ in sight. He was having a strange conversation. With a strange person. Wouldn’t want that linked to him.

“Oh god. And you thought _I_ was deaf. I said ‘DEE-TWENTY’. Got it? It’s a special die used for Dungeons and Dragons”

The last words sounded strangely familiar. Derek took a moment to think where he heard it, then actually remembered his cousin being a complete fanatic over Dungeons and Dragons the…

“…board game?” Derek muttered. He pursed his lips afterwards, quite ashamed that he said those words out loud.

If it was even possible, the other brightened up even more. He slightly bounced on his toes and had an _impossibly adorable_ smile on his face. “Hey! You know about it?”

“No” Derek flatly said, furrowing his eyebrows. “I heard about it from some…people by the hallway”

“Right…” the tone sounded doubtful, but Derek was pretty sure he was imagining it.

He cleared his throat and straightened his posture a bit. “Anyway. As I mentioned earlier and _before,_ watch out and be careful where you’re going”

Stiles did a mock salute before saying “Aye aye, Captain!”. He was quite surprised with his actions that he just turned and _ran_.

Derek watched as the student left, running up the slope and almost tripping on himself. He felt his phone vibrate so he grabbed it as he continued walking. It was a message from Danny, about having the team files ready and waiting for him. He smiled, feeling utterly accomplished with having Danny in his team. His fellow junior was taking up a business course, with dreams of taking over his family’s company and maybe putting up his own too. He was also incredibly good with technology, and could’ve broken hundreds of school cyber laws with his skills.

 _Files are ready. Just let me know when you need them_ Derek reread the message as he unlocked his car and sat inside. He tapped his fingers on his steering wheel as something nagged at his brain. Phone in his right hand, his thumb hovered over the ‘call’ button. Derek did a quick check of the time, then mentally went over Danny’s schedule that he conveniently memorized at the start of the term. It was already 4:50, which meant Danny had just finished with his afternoon classes.

He hit the ‘call’ button without hesitation and waited for the other line to answer.

“Are you picking up the files today?” were Danny’s first words

“No. Nope. Hold on to them for a while first” Derek rubbed at his eyes then continued speaking “I need a favor from you”

 

–--

 

He met up with Danny the following day.

“Here are the team files” Danny said, handing him a black binder full of paper.  He was holding another folder, cream-colored this time, and hesitated for a split second before he placed the cream folder on top of the black one. “And, as per your request”

Derek smiled, adjusting his grip on the folders. “Thanks a lot for this. I'll talk to you again la—”

“No” Danny said in a firm voice, slapping a palm on top of the folders. He looked at Derek straight in the eye then said “mind telling me what this is about?”

The captain grimaced a bit. He _knew_ this was going to happen, but wasn’t able to think of a viable way out.

“C’mon man. It’s only me. If you decide to _evade_ explaining why you need those files, I’ll be forced to bill you for my services. And just a reminder, I know how to handle money very well”

Derek made a disgusted look “Did you just pull the ‘I’m-a-businessman-in-training’ card on me?”

His scribe just shrugged “If it works, I’ll keep on doing it” he then pointed a finger at the folder in question “So. What’s up with this kid?”

“Kid?”

“Yeah. He’s a freshie. Not from around here, so he’s staying in one of the dorms”

“Aha…”

“And dude. The picture you sent me was almost unrecognizable. Couldn’t you have taken a _better_ shot?”

“Well, obviously not” Derek replied. He had to literally _steal a shot_ after he talked to the kid by The Glade. He remembered almost scratching his tires on the gutter as he tried to maneuver his car to the nearest point possible.

“Right. Going back to my payment options: either tell me, or pay me”

“Okay!” Derek said exasperatedly. His frown deepened as he muttered, “I keep on…seeing him around and he’s...” he tried to search for a proper word but settled with “strange”

Danny just nodded, but Derek didn’t miss the smirk on his face. “Anything you want to say?” he added.

“Me? Oh no. I’m good. Just…use the information wisely?” he raised his eyebrow then grinned widely. “Listen, I gotta go. Good luck with those files” and with that, he left Derek to his thoughts.

 

\--–  
  
  


His phone’s screen lit up and started to dance across his desk. Glancing at it, he saw the picture of the caller, whom of which he hasn’t spoken to in a long time. Derek ignored it and went back to his paper, as he tried to sort out a list of names.

The phone continued to ring, and Derek rolled his eyes and heaved a loud sigh before picking up the call.

“Hello?”

“Took you long enough to answer! What are you doing anyway?”

He glanced at the paper in front of him. “Writing” he said.

“Well, that’s helpful. And here I thought you were busting your ass in the field or torturing yourself with readings, which could be true because you’re not being _specific_ with your answer as usual. And—”

Derek had to interrupt “Laura. What do you want?”

There was a momentary pause before the caller replied “I was just checking up on you. See how you were doing. We haven’t spoken in a while now”

“Well…I’ve been busy. You know, _with college_ ” he leaned back on his chair and stretched his legs. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.

“I see. Now, I won’t bother asking you about classes, since that will just bore me to death, so I’ll ask about your precious wolves instead”

He couldn’t stop the surprised tone in his voice “The team? You’re asking about _my_ team?”

“Why so surprised? Yes, Derek. Your older sister is _definitely_ asking about the welfare of the lacrosse team, which you are currently handling”

Derek narrowed his eyes “Did you speak with Uncle Peter recently?”

Excitement was clearly evident in Laura’s voice when she spoke “oh, why yes! As a matter of fact, we had dinner a couple of nights ago. Dad was stuck at work, so me and mom were left to babysit”

He was about to ask about his parents when Laura continued, “he was thinking of visiting you after finals week…”

“He WHAT?”

“…and I said ‘oh yeah. Sure. I’ll go with you’”

He rubbed his forehead then said mournfully “Lauraaaaaaa”

“What? Free invites to see my favorite baby brother! Best thing ever”

He shook his head and smiled despite himself. It would be nice to see family after hell week, but he couldn’t help but wonder. “Why is Peter dropping by for a visit? Does he have business here?”

“Not that I know of. But, we’ll never know…”

“Wait. Is he checking up on the team? Is he checking up _on me?”_ he stood up then started to pace around the room. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt nervous, but walking around helped calm him down.

“Woah there. Are you getting stressed out that we’re going there?”

“N-not particularly”

“Why is your voice breaking then?”

“Uh…”

“Are you hiding something?”

“I’m…not sure if it qualifies as that. As you mentioned, we _haven’t_ spoken to each other for a while”

“You’re hiding something”

“Maybe”

“Is there someone?”

“Yes” Derek automatically answered, then mentally scolded himself. He tried again “No! Definitely no one”

“Okay...” Laura paused for a second before continuing, “Well, I have got to go now. Need to do a few errands for the office and a few neighboring chapters, so I better get to that. I’ll talk to ya later” and she promptly ended the call.

Derek held his phone in front of him and stared at it disbelievingly. He unlocked it, scrolled down the contacts list and furiously jabbed the ‘call’ button when he got to his sister’s name.

“Yes, Laura Hale speaking”

“You cheater” he gritted out

Laura chuckled before she asked, “anything interesting I should know? Like a bit of a heads up or something?”

Derek frowned, debating with himself if there was _anything_ he should be telling his sister. He ran a hand through his messy hair before he ventured “there _could_ be someone”

“Aha...and who is this 'someone'?”

“Some...freshie, who I keep on encountering every so often” and _why_ was he telling his sister this again?

“Ooh, freshman” she said sharply. “What's up with this kid then?”

“If you figure it out, let me know because _I have no fucking clue_ ”

“Growling now? This must be serious”

Derek didn't know what to say to that. Granted, it's been a week since that encounter at his department building, and just a few days since he confirmed that the kid was indeed a _nerd_. He was playing board games with his friends for crying out loud.

His team will never forgive him for this.

“Hello? Still there?”

His family might not forgive him either.

“Yeah. Still here. Sorry...”

There was a smirk in Laura's voice when she spoke “Right. Let's see how this will play out” Derek moved to the edge of his bed and sat heavily on it, waiting for his sister to continue. “Top of your head: what you thinking of right now? Go”

He wasn't sure what Laura really meant, but he complied anyway “The team, the pile of schedules that I have to arrange, practices tomorrow, my Anthro report, the program meeting for next week...” he trailed off, waiting for Laura to say something.

But she kept quiet, and he had to check that the call didn't end. The minutes were still running, so he continued talking. Images started to filter through his brain, and he described _those_ instead.

“Big eyes, crisp laughter, ghostly-pale skin, messy brown hair, a polyhedral game piece, the _most ridiculous-looking_ pair of glasses in existence” his voice rose little by little, then he let out an aggravated sound before he leaned back and collapsed on his bed.

“Well, someone's frustrated” Laura really didn't try to hide the amusement in her voice. Derek had the urge to throw something. Like his phone, for example.

“I'd like to die in a corner now” he didn't know which was more annoying: his embarrassment or his frustration

“What? No, no, no...” she answered, voice leveling out now. “I really don't see the problem here, Der. If you like this person, which, is quite clear by your vivid descriptions, then go ahead”

“It's not that easy, Laura” _It's never that easy_ he thought to himself

“Really now? You're in _college_ , as you so nicely pointed out earlier. You're staying in your own apartment...”

“...which is modestly paid for by the family”

“Stop interrupting. And so what if it's from the fund? You're the one who chose to study there and was _quite_ persistent about living in an apartment instead of the dorms”

Derek just rolled his eyes. That _was_ true anyway. “Anything else?” he prompted

“Yes, actually. Will you please do something about your _feelings_? It would be nice to see you have a bit more fun, rather than being so uptight about school and lacrosse”

“But I like school and lacrosse”

This time, it was Laura who let out a frustrated sigh “Yeah, okay. I obviously get that. But my point here is: you’re a _junior_ Derek. One more year then you’ll be out in the real world. If you plan on doing something fucked up its better if you do it _while_ you’re still in school.

“Are you telling me to screw up my life on purpose?”

“What? Of course not, you idiot! What I’m trying to tell you is that you’re free to choose. Don’t think about barriers or anything. If you want something, then go for it”

Derek pondered on that thought for a moment. He’s used to the idea of going after whatever he wanted, but the real question would be: did he actually _want_ this?

“Oh, and one last thing?”

“What?”

“Am I going to meet this ‘freshie’ of yours when I come by to visit?”

Derek just _growled_ before he hung up, hearing a bit of joyous laughter before the line went off.

He threw his phone on the bed and let out another sigh. How did his life get complicated, he could not pinpoint. He stared at his ceiling for a moment, before he moved his head to face his bedside table. There, sitting under his shades and cap, was the same cream-colored folder he procured from Danny. That day, he skimmed through all five-pages of student information in about ten seconds, before he snapped the folder shut and left it on the small table.

He had promised himself that he'd read through the damn thing when he had enough time to let his excitement and curiosity simmer down. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to properly survey the contents because of practices and classes. It only proved that his life was already occupied as is, so how could he afford any time for a complete _stranger_?

It was now a matter of balancing out school and family. He had already spilled his goddamned feelings to his sister _over a phone call_ , and he already felt exhausted. He wasn’t sure if he could handle that from campus life.

Standing up, Derek walked back to his desk and surveyed the pile of papers. His eyes quickly skimmed through the names and the information written there. This was his _team_ , his safety net. Danny and Jackson are practically _his brothers_ already. But somehow, he’s quite sure that they won’t be as sympathetic as his own sister.

Face set, he finally reached a conclusion just when he pushed the topic to the back of his head.

He was determined to keep whatever dignity he had left.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHAHA. GUESS WHO’S ON A HOLIDAY FROM WORK AND SUDDENLY HAS /SOME/ FREE TIME~
> 
> Hello there readers! Hope you guys are still alive out there! Here’s the third chapter, with more interaction, information, and awkwardness thrown here and there. I was actually writing a separate fic after I edited this, and I got a bit distracted and stuff. Still haven’t done a lot of progress from the last time I updated, but I decided to just post one chapter for now in the hopes that I get ideas/inspiration/etc. 
> 
> I am honestly not yet done with the entire story, but it’s basically mapped out in my brain that it tends to drive me crazy at the most random times. I usually resort to writing random scenarios and sub-plots that I have to still fix up and decide whether or not I’ll use them for later. They usually take up a lot of space at the end of my Word documents :3 
> 
> (I really should stop my procrastination and ramblings. On to the story then!)

 

“We'll be doing laps today” Derek announced during practices the next day. “Actually, _two_ sets of laps. I thought of having a nice stroll around campus as a pack, then we can go back here to start a few drills”

He looked at his team from his vantage point at the first step of the bleachers. No one seemed to have any qualms so he continued, “Okay. Route will be straight through Oxford, take a right at Crescent Lane, then take one of the paths leading back here. Form three lines, I don't care what arrangement. Just get it done. Let's hustle!”

The team scrambled to follow Derek's instructions and in no time, three neat lines were formed. Derek nodded, reaching into his black shorts for his whistle. He hung it around his neck then looked at the start of the line. “We'll go around the oval first then out to the road. Frontrunners, move to the back when I say so. Alex, Joshua, and Marco, you know what to do”. He clapped his hands twice and his team started to move. Derek jumped up and down for a few seconds before he trailed after his team.

It was an easy pace. Derek was pretty glad that his second set of frontrunners maintained it as they passed the tennis courts. There were very few cars on the road, but a number of students walked around everywhere. He would hear whispers from random passers-by, but he tuned most of them out. Three years in the lacrosse team has made him accustomed to the constant attention they got, but sometimes he would listen to one or two comments made.

He shouted “switch” just when they were about to pass the University Halls. Danny glanced at him for a second, wearing that distinct 'I-know-something' smirk, as he and two others led the team. “Let's play, Danny” Derek said in a low voice before he shouted “Burst!”

“Oh hell no!” he heard Mitchell complain loudly, so this prompted him to blow his whistle until the pace suddenly quickened. Derek ran after his team, and was able to reach the front. He tapped on Danny's shoulder, gave him his cockiest grins, and earned a laugh from his goalie. “You can slow down now, and switch” he directed his words to his frontrunners. Danny just shook his head as he moved to the side and slowed down, muttering “you really are a dick when you're annoyed, Hale”

“Well, you started it, Mahealani”

Both of them moved to the back of the line, still grinning at each other. Derek stayed by the side, noticing that everyone was able to keep up. He watched as Jackson and Andy took the front, and groaned a bit. Those were his two headaches in the team, and Botwin was just a damn sophomore. He shook his head and just hoped that nothing would happen.

They finally reached the turn leading to Crescent Lane. He was tempted to do another switch, because a Whittemore and Botwin team-up could be a hazard to pedestrians. But, it would be too unfair if they only had a few meters to lead. He just let them be, trying to observe the people ahead of them.

Everything was going smoothly, but they were barely halfway through the bend. There was a group of students, about ten or so, who slowly made their way towards the Crimson Gate. Majority of the group was able to cross the lane with no problems, but three students were trailing behind, chatting idly amongst themselves.

That was when Derek spotted a familiar looking blue beanie and black-rimmed glasses. Danny nudged his arm, confirming his thoughts. He then shot a glare towards Danny.

All of a sudden, he heard the word “ _burst_ ”, and everyone automatically launched themselves forward. Before Derek could understand what has happened, Jackson roughly shouldered the freshman, making him collide with his friends and sending them tumbling to the ground. Derek barked out “Jackson”, then commanded a switch, making the team continue running.

Danny fell behind to look at Derek with a confused look, as the captain shook his head slowly. However, Derek jerked his head towards the freshmen and mouthed ‘ _please’_ , grateful that Danny understood his plea and immediately did a U-turn.

He'd deal with Jackson and Andy later. For now, he heaved a breath and bellowed “Wolves, let's go!”, hearing howls in reply as they started to take one of the forest paths. He chanced a glance at Danny and the group of freshmen before everything was too far away.

 

–--

 

“Are you guys okay?” the tall junior from before said, towering over Stiles and Scott sitting on the side of the road

Scott looked at Stiles, who in turn looked up. He had a very annoyed look on his face as he raised his eyebrow and answered “do you really think we're okay?”

The other just shrugged, before he extended his hands towards the both of them “Lemme help you guys up. Least I can do for now”

Stiles saw Scott grab the hand without any second thoughts, making him sigh then follow suit. They were pulled up their feet effortlessly, like they weighed nothing. Scott dusted his pants while Stiles ripped off his beanie and took off his glasses. “Good thing these didn't break” he muttered nonchalantly, tucking them inside his beanie.

The junior continued talking “Anyway, I'm Danny. Goalie of the wolves. On behalf of the team, I'd like to offer our apologies. Jackson is quite notorious of tripping on underclassmen...”

“...more like innocent pedestrians” Scott said

“That too. Well, I'm pretty sure Derek will make Jackson realize his mistake” he smiled a bit, then narrowed his eyes and surveyed them for a while “sophies?”

“Freshmen, actually”

Danny nodded “headed to class?”

Stiles raised his eyebrow, but decided to just play along “We, uh, just came from a freshmen meeting thing...might just hang out somewhere”

“Right” Danny said, smiling brightly _.   _“Well, it’s good that everything’s okay. I’ll have to go ahead...” he let his sentence linger a bit

“Scott, and he's Stiles” Scott replied automatically, pointing a thumb to his best friend.

“Scott...and Stiles” Danny looked at Stiles, then nodded. “Nice to meet you. Take it easy, ayt?” he turned around and started to jog away, following the earlier path of his team.

Stiles made sure that Danny was about ten feet away, before he complained loudly at his friend “you traitor! Why'd you give up our positions?”

“Huh?” Scott said dumbly, clearly not understanding anything

“You just gave _our identities_ to the damn _scribe_ of those hideous wolves! He'll probably track us down and have us arrested for kicks...”

Scott gave him an incredulous look “Seriously Stiles? I think you've been playing too much Contract Killer again”

Stiles punched his arm “I'm serious! If they start a full-scale war against us, this will entirely be _your_ fault”

“Do you really think that the entire lacrosse team will gang up on a couple of freshmen?” Scott grabbed his bag from the ground “I mean, why would they bother?”

“I dunno. They could all be a walking dick, just like Jackson”

Scott laughed loudly as he started to walk “did you just make a joke?”

“Pretty good, right? Come on, admit it…” Stiles waggled his eyebrows “we could use that name instead of ‘stinking-no-good-jocks’”

“Whatever man. Just let it go, okay? We haven’t even reached spring break and here are, getting involved with a bunch of jocks”

“Dicks” Stiles corrected. “The game is on!”

Scott just gave him a sidewards glance.

“Fine. Shutting up” he swung his arm over Scott’s shoulder “Now, where were we meeting Isaac and his gentleman club again?”

 

–--

 

It was two hours since they started their run. The lacrosse team was now huddled by the bleachers, watching their captain scold their other two team mates. The trio was standing in the middle of the field, still in full gear. Even with the distance, each person could hear Derek’s voice carry out throughout the deserted grounds.

“…the fuck Jackson! You deliberately did that! And you! You’ve got some nerve to call an order _over the team_ ” Derek yelled at Jackson and Andy. He continued his barrage of words, easing out his anger and frustrations over the incident earlier.

“I’ve never seen Derek lash out that bad…” Earl commented

“Yeah. I mean, why is he _so angry_? It was just a bunch of freshies anyway. And they were both fine, right Danny?” Mitchell said, turning towards their goalkeeper.

Danny paused midway through adjusting the netting of his lacrosse stick. He sighed quietly before replying, “Guys. I’ve known Derek for a long time. He’s a borderline perfectionist, due to the long list of high-achievers from his family. He’s _angry_ because he doesn’t want to fail as captain. Besides…” he stretched his leg “the wolves have a reputation to hold. He’s just keeping the status quo, even outside the field”

There was a collective sigh of wonderment, but one commented “our captain’s a closet-softie then”

Danny shot a look towards Carlos, then said coolly “don’t let him hear that. And, do you really think he’s a ‘softie’ if he’s punishing Jackson and Andy with _even more_ laps after practices?”

“Point”

The discussion died down after that, and everyone turned back to random topics while fixing their respective equipment. Danny stared out at the field, and watched as Jackson and Andy jogged around the field with their lacrosse sticks resting over their shoulders. Derek was also watching them, before he turned and started walking towards the bleachers. He was squinting his eyes from the sunlight while gripping his lacrosse stick with his right hand.

He stopped by the bottom step and looked at the team “Anyone got the time?”

“11:10” prompted Ralph

“Alright. I’m postponing afternoon practices to tomorrow morning instead. Same time. Just a few drills and one game perhaps. Let’s try to finish up early so that you guys can get some studying done, alright?”

Everyone nodded and Derek dismissed them. “Danny!” he called out, then threw his stick towards his goalkeeper when he turned. “Thanks. I’ll run a couple more laps before turning in” he said, as he stripped off his shoulder pads and gloves and laid them by the railings.

“You okay?” Danny said, concern evident in his voice

Derek bent down to scratch his knee before he answered, “I’m fine. I just need to clear my head. See you at the locker rooms” He turned and started to jog around the oval, Jackson and Andy a couple of meters ahead of him.

 

–--

 

“Aren’t you leaving yet?” Andy said, seeing Danny sitting on one of the benches with his tablet in his hand.

Danny glanced up from the spreadsheet that he was currently going over and saw who addressed him “Oh. Uh, not yet. I have to consult with Derek about the…forms needed for the game”

“What forms?”

“Registration forms, line-up sheets, grades form…standard pre-game arrangements”

Andy merely nodded, completely uninterested “Well, I’ll go now and try to get some rest before lunch”

The junior looked towards the shower area “where’s Jackson?”

“Didn’t you see him? He just grabbed his stuff and left without showering”

“Pissed off at Derek, as usual”

“Well, who wouldn’t be?”

“Andy…” he said, putting down the tablet on his lap “you know what you guys did. Jackson caused trouble during a run, and _you_ issued a direct order over—”

“—the team. Save it; I’ve heard enough from the captain himself” he sniped back

“Well, fault’s in your hands. Don’t toe the line. Everyone in this team is aware of how powerful and influential Derek Hale is in the community. He’s called ‘alpha’ by neophytes and freshmen for reason, y’know”

"Care to enlighten me then?"

Danny cast a strange look at his team mate, wondering if he was dense or was just fishing for details "weren't you a neophyte before?"

"I was...but our MC didn't give us specific details. He just told us to treat Derek with 'utmost respect and dignity'”

"You know the basics then. No need to go into specifics..."

Andy was about to open his mouth to say something, but hesitated. He just shook his head and muttered "right. I'll just, go now"

Danny waved at him "yup. See ya tomorrow morning"

The sophomore left without saying anything else. Danny went back to his tablet, minimizing the spreadsheet and opening his games folder. He was scrolling through the selection when he heard someone walking outside the locker rooms. He sat back up, keeping his eyes on the doorway

Derek walked in casually, then stopped for a second when he saw that the room was not empty. He recognized the familiar face, then immediately asked "you're still here? What's up?"

"Well, you tell me _what's up_. I had to give half-real, half-bullshit reasons to the entire team since they kept on asking...”

“What the heck? Really?” Derek drew his eyebrows together “Why?”

“Lapse of power? Because they were having funny thoughts about the incident"

"Oh. That" he muttered, walking in the room and dumping his equipment in the corner. "Speaking of which, what happened by Crimson gate? Any problems?"

Danny rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. "Offered apologies, no one got hurt, no damage, assured them you'd deal with it...it's all good"

"How diplomatic of you”

A grin "this is the reason why I'm the scribe, not the captain"

"That's true" Derek said with a smile, heading for his locker to grab his towel and soap

"He wasn't hurt, if you're wondering" the goalkeeper commented, glancing to see if Derek was paying attention. He continued "he was a bit annoyed though"

"Can't do anything about that"

Danny stood to walk nearer his companion "Derek" he started "if you're so interested in this kid, why didn't you—"

"Because I can't risk everything" he said softy. He turned to look at his friend "you know, Laura asked me a similar question last night. Sure, maybe I _do_ like this kid..."

"Stiles" Denny prompted, earning a look of confusion "didn't you read the file yet?"

"No time"

Danny raised an eyebrow at him

"Stiles..." Derek tested out the name, letting the sound roll out his mouth. "If I do like Stiles, then what?"

"Up to you, man. Your call"

"I can't risk everything" he repeated

“Why not? What are you afraid of?”

Derek shut the door of his locker then leaned heavily against it “A lot of things…but most of all? Perhaps judgment”

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Derek started to stand up straight and head for the showers when Danny said “you’ll get through it. You know why?”

Derek’s mouth lifted a bit in the corner as he stopped and answered lightly “Hale charm strikes yet again?”

“Exactly!” Danny chuckled, clapping a hand on his captain’s shoulder. “You’re Derek Hale. Captain of the lacrosse team, sociologist-in-training, maintained a 3.8 GPA ever since freshmen year, destined to be a Grand Master, if not for the unavailability of your family’s preferred group” he grinned “why should you be deprived of _this_ when you can achieve pretty much anything?

Derek pushed Danny's hand away while muttering “I hate it when you make perfect sense”

The goalkeeper laughed, turning around “Whatever you decide on, make sure that you’re satisfied with it. Just…” he sighed out loud “Just try, Derek. There’s no harm in trying”

“Try. We'll see...” Derek shrugged

“Right, that settles it. I'll see ya tomorrow” Danny said, walking back to the bench. He picked up his tablet and bag, then spoke again “hang on a second. We're done with all the pre-game forms right?”

“Uh...yes” Derek's voice dripped with sarcasm “since last week. Don't you remember?”

“No, I actually do. Just, I'm double-checking that I lied about that bit”

“You're being weird, Mahealani. Get out of here” he answered humorously

“Gotcha capt'n” Danny said, walking out of the locker in time to hear the shower knobs turn.

 

–--

 

It was Thursday before the week of finals. It would be another easy-going day for Stiles, if not for the all-nighter DnD game he had with Scott and Matt. They were prepping up for an upcoming battle against Isaac's group, and they were very much determined to win. They were practically _smothered_ by the other group, as they sadly marked their papers with numbers that went lower and lower with each turn.

He glanced at the time on his phone and mentally cursed. He was running late for Van Peel's class, and they were supposed to have an exam today. Not that he was late already, but he always made it a point to arrive five minutes before class started. He sprinted through the pathways, neatly avoiding anyone or anything. He was almost near his building when he spotted a large crowd in front of the entrance.

It seemed like it was a promotion of one of the clubs, and from one look at all the materials and equipment sprawled out, it was one of the outdoor clubs. Stiles would've stopped to look, but he needed to get to his class.

He squeezed through the crowd, not bothering to apologize if his bulky backpack hit anyone. He could almost see the double-glass doors of his building, if not for the last wall of people he had to trudge through.

“Let's see, who wants to volunteer?” he heard someone say from the crowd. There were cheers and catcalls then _howls_ , and Stiles suddenly was being _pulled backwards_ and…

“HEY! What the—” he squawked loudly, as strong hands clamped around his shoulders and pulled him back into the crowd. His limbs awkwardly flailed around, trying to grab onto someone, something, _anything_ that could stop his backward motion _._ However, his bag was approximately half his body size and weight and he just can’t win against something he couldn’t see.

He twisted his neck and peeked behind him, but it was probably too late already. Something was being _strapped_ on his shoulders and torso and before he could afford to protest loudly, he was pushed away from everyone. Stiles got a good look at the crowd, and noticed a number of them snickering to themselves.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now begin the demonstration. Thank you to our _wonderful_ volunteers, and we assure everyone that our equipment has been tested and certified. This is merely a drill, so don’t be alarmed”

“Wait! What the heck is happe—hhhh” Stiles was unable to finish his sentence due to the wind being knocked out of him. _Literally._ A few seconds later, he was ten feet above the ground and he realized that he was hanging from the large olive tree in front of his building.

The harnesses around him were a bit comfortable, but this didn’t stop his internal panic that they might snap and break. He started to twist around, but he only swayed in place as he lamely watched the ongoing program beneath him. “H-Hey!” he tried to call their attention, but the megaphone drowned out his voice.

There was another ‘volunteer’ who was being pushed away from the crowd and wore the same harness as he was. In record time, another unfortunate victim was being hoisted up, and Stiles finally got a good look at the other guy.

“Oh hey Tommy. How's it...hanging?” Stiles said, recognizing his classmate.

Tommy was also freshmen and came from the same college, except he came from the History department. He was an awfully quiet guy, but could talk on and on when engaged in a particularly interesting topic. It was just Stiles’ luck that they both had a penchant for the history of media. Their paper on the history of the printing press was highly praised by their prof, and from then on they usually opted to do group projects together.

“Stiles…” he said, his voice a bit defeated. He glanced sideways, shrugging his shoulders. “So, how’d you get to this dilemma?”

“Oh, you know…vicious prey hunting innocent people by the sidewalk” he sighed “I hope Van Peel will believe our story, let alone forgive us for being late”

Tommy scratched his head in frustration, then spoke out loud in a voice Stiles has never heard before “HEY! HELLO! MIND GETTING US DOWN FROM HERE? VAN PEEL WILL NEVER FORGIVE THE MOUNTAINEERING CLUB”

Someone ran nearer them and shouted “oh crap! Did you say Van Peel?”

“Yes I did. And if you guys still want to be on his Belgian good side, I strongly suggest that you let us down. We might rethink our decision to make some crappy excuse for our tardiness”

The guy beneath them scrambled to his other friends, and everyone hurried to pack their things. The crowd quickly scattered, leaving the mountaineering club to their troubles. Two guys ran towards them and started to untie the knots that held their harnesses. They were lowered down quickly, and the harnesses were taken instantly.

“We deeply apologize for the trouble boys. Just to let you guys know, it wasn’t our intention to hoist you guys up. It was the—”

“Yeah yeah, save it” Tommy said, rolling his shoulders. “We’ll just go now” he briskly walked away, as Stiles was adjusting his bag. He ran after his friend, aching to ask a million questions.

“Tommy!” he said once they were inside the building. “Thanks a lot for that…thing, but care to explain what the heck happened?”

“What? The Van Peel thing or the fact the entire mountaineering club is composed of bunch of dicks?”

Stiles pondered on the choices and answered, “Both”

“It’s pretty simple actually” they started to climb up the stairs, taking two at a time “their little club has intentions of climbing some stupid mountain in Brussels and as you know, Van Peel is from that place” he saw Stiles nod before he continued, “they’ve been trying to get in his good graces so that they could ask him for a recommendation to show the mountain rangers”

“So everything was real?”

“Of course Stiles. Did you think I lied to them?”

“Er- no. Not that. It just felt a bit far-fetched, that’s all”

Tommy chuckled, heading towards their lecture room. “It was a good thing that I’m aware of the plans of that specific club, otherwise we would really miss the test”

“Oh wait hold on” Stiles said, grabbing the other’s bag to stop him “what’s our excuse?”

“Who said anything about making excuses? The mountaineering club will never set foot on that mountain” Tommy answered, before he pushed the door and crept inside.

 

–--

 

He saw Carlos and Jackson down the hallway when he emerged from a meeting with one of his professors. Admittedly, he didn't want to deal with them right now, since his brain was currently buzzing from all the information he had to take note of. However, he still needed to attend one more meeting before he could go back to his apartment and deal with his thoughts and paperwork.

He immediately turned the other way, but it was too late. He heard his name and a few footsteps headed towards his way.

“Derek! Hey!” Carlos called out from behind him

Plastering his usual half-smile, Derek turned around to see his two other team mates stop in front of him. “Oh hey guys. What brings you here?”

“I had to meet a professor from here, and I happened to see Jackson along the way” Carlos answered.

Derek turned to raise an eyebrow at his sub-captain. “And you?”

“Program meeting. I...forgot where it will be, so I decided to just look for you?” Jackson muttered, keeping his head bowed

It confused Derek why Jackson came looking for him personally instead of just calling him or sending a message. But he figured if it was his was of apologizing, with the way he kept his head bowed and voice low “It's going to be at the Performing Arts Theater. Wanna hitch a ride?”

Jackson nodded, and was visibly surprised when Derek held out his hand in a handshake. “You're still a bastard, but it's really good to see you back on track with priorities”

“Oh come on, Derek. You know I always deliver” he shook his captain's hand “but fine. I _apologize_ for the dick move at Crescent Lane” he suddenly smirked “those freshies totally deserved that anyway. Had to put them into place”

“Typical Jackson” Derek said, breaking the handshake.

“It's true! We need to assert ourselves once in a while, especially to the newbies. What will happen to our 'status quo' if we don't?”

“Yeah Derek. You're losing touch...”

The captain shot a death glare towards Carlos and said in an icy tone “am I now?”

Carlos snorted “Yes? By the way you overreacted about the run”

“That is different. We were out on a run, in public, _during a weekend_. It's good thing that there was no word from the administration about it”

“So what if there was? Won't they be proud that they have such a strong lacrosse team? I mean, that was _weak_. Bet you can't even do that for the sake of the pack”

“Carlos...” Jackson warned

Derek's forehead furrowed further as he answered in a low voice “Watch what you say, Garcia. You don’t know _anything_ about me”

“Perhaps, but I’m already having too many doubts” There was an evil smile, then Carlos suddenly nodded towards the direction behind Derek “How about we see you do something about that?”

The captain turned around to see what his midfielder was referring to. There, about ten feet away from them and standing by a low window, was the same freshman that has been driving Derek crazy for the past weeks. He was talking to a friend, as he stuffed some papers haphazardly into his bag.

Derek looked at his two team mates and was faced with Jackson’s puzzled look and Carlos’ scheming one. “Well, what are you waiting for?” the latter said, flashing a cocky grin.

 _'It's a test. I'm being put to the test'_ he chided himself. He sucked in a breath and started to walk towards the other student, feeling the presence of the two behind him. He watched as Stiles’ friend waved goodbye, turning at the corner just when they were two feet away.

Derek stopped and straightened his back, mustering all the authority he held into his voice “move it freshie. You're in my way”

Stiles turned to look at him and _god, good thing he wasn’t wearing his glasses_. He frowned deeply and replied “Well, excuse me _Sir_ , but the damn hall is wide enough to accommodate you and your stupid wolves” Stiles snapped, moving a bit to glare at the other two athletes.  

“Oh, nice observation freshman, but I want you _to move aside”_ Derek answered, shoving Stiles forcefully, making the other collide with the trashcan nearby.

Carlos and Jackson laughed behind Derek as the trio watched the scene. Several paper cups and boxes and some discarded test papers were strewn all over the floor around Stiles. A small plastic container of leftover spaghetti was spilling its contents beside his right leg, staining the denim. 

“Oh look, how convenient. A _trashcan_ ” Carlos jeered, as he pulled out a small plastic from the pocket of his bag and immediately poured its contents on Stiles’ head. Small snack wrappers landed on Stiles’ head and shoulders, as he just sat there doing nothing. Carlos then balled up the plastic and promptly tossed it on the floor beside Stiles.

Derek tried to smile, and ignored the sharp pang of guilt upon seeing the look on Stiles’ face: angry, defeated, and a hint of disappointment? He rolled his shoulders, and spoke up one last time “stay out of my way next time, nerd” before he purposely walked away, not even sparing a second glance.

They all reached the outside of the building, and Derek immediately spun around and glared at Carlos “did you enjoy that?”

There was an amused chuckle “I knew you had it in you, Alpha. And yes, I completely enjoyed that”

The captain huffed, stepping back a bit. “Good. There’s more where that came from” he narrowed his eyes at Carlos, then turned to look at Jackson “Let’s go. We’re gonna be late” he turned to leave Carlos as he headed for the parking lot.

When they reached his black Camaro, Jackson spoke “Derek”

“What?” the other barked out, forehead still scrunched up and a deep frown set in place. He looked at Jackson, waiting for a reply.

The law student shook his head slowly, pushing his questions away “nevermind”

They reached the theater in a few minutes, the entire ride silent except for the low rumble of the engine. They walked in the building together and were met by a couple of other scholars attending the meeting. Jackson noticed Derek's mood lighten significantly, as he would exchange pleasantries with the others and would laugh along with some of the jokes made. Jackson headed for the snack table to grab a bottle of water, observing his friend from a distance.

He has seen Derek act this way, but he couldn't remember when that time was. It somehow intrigued him, but he knew that it would be best if he'd just ignore it and let it pass.

Or, he could try asking Danny if he had any thoughts about it.

“Mr. Whittemore”

He turned to see one of the program heads from his college stand beside him with a wide grin “Oh! Doctor Ramirez! It's good to see you again”

Maybe he'll have to deal with the Derek-thing _much_ later. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello readers! I'm back (not for good), but hey it’s a weekend here and I am pretty much free from work for now. I’ll try to update two chapters before I go on hiatus again. Thanks so much for subscribing to this fic, and also leaving kudos(es) and comments. You guys really keep me from actually giving up on this idea. I’m still stuck in one part of the story, but once I find a way over the damn plothole, I’ll be able to finish this. SOON I hope.
> 
> Anyway, on to the story! Mild spoiler: Derek and Stiles meet, and well, it might be a bit heated for the two of them ;D

 

It had been an agonizing week. Stiles was about to meet up with Scott so that they could go through some notes on plant anatomy (a subject where Stiles sucked and Scott was completely brilliant in) before they took their final exam two hours later.

He raced through the hallway and hurried down the stairs. He finally located Scott sitting under one of the windows, hunched over a large book. Stiles walked towards that direction and dropped his bag on the floor, sitting across his friend.

“Yo Scott” he said, tapping the other's knee

“two plus three times four and ….” Scott suddenly looked up “what do you want?”

Stiles burst out laughing “really, dude. Really?” he answered, clapping a hand on Scott's shoulder. “I thought you were studying plant ana?”

“I am!” he leaned on the wall behind him “but there are a few things to count here too, and it's annoying that I forgot how this went...”

“What's that? Lemme see...” he pulled the book towards him and went over the page that Scott was on.

“Hey Stiles. What happened here?” he asked, scratching the orange stain on his friend’s pant leg.

Stiles glanced at his leg and immediately rolled his eyes “Oh. That. My pants have been washed, by the way. It's just that tomato sauce is a bitch to remove” he stretched and gestured to his leg “Spaghetti sauce. Compliments of the walking dicks pack”

Scott flashed a confused face, then realization hit him “wait a second. You got attacked by the wolves?” then he added “again?”

“Yes, exactly!” Stiles exclaimed. “I was at Barrows, just finished talking to Matt because Philip wanted to be friends with him, then suddenly the almighty-alpha-dick shoves me to the wall and trash bin. Just because I was 'in his way'” he ranted, completely forgetting about the book on his lap.

Scott shook his head “Stiles. I think you'd better stay away from their path. I mean, as much as possible”

“How do I do that, since I conveniently keep on meeting their alpha dick at random occasions?”  he scrubbed at his head “I think it would be better if _they_ stay away...far, far away from me before I decide to do something that might lead to my untimely demise…” he threw his head back as he frowned.

“Yeah. No, no! Stay put there! I'm still at Evans, and I have to go and meet their maintenance crew here”

Stiles _knew_ that voice. He has been hearing that voice over and over in his head, and he has gone over countless of reasons to justify the fact that he actually _liked_ the voice. He would like to record that nice, melodious voice and keep it in his laptop, except that he would appear to be the biggest creeper creeping on the campus jock. He _liked_ Derek Hale's voice.

Unfortunately, not the same can be said about the person. Or his attitude.

Stiles bolted upwards, catching the heavy biology book at the very last minute. He saw Derek talking on the phone loudly, wearing some sort of jogging attire. There was a white cap on his head, and he was clutching a clear clipboard as he crossed the huge lobby.

Derek ended the call and pocketed his phone. He was halfway across the main lobby when he noticed someone approach him from the corner of his eye. He stopped and turned his head, as he groaned inwardly.

It was the freshman, _Stiles_ his mind supplied, walking up to him.  Stiles stopped about three feet away from his place and just _stood there_. He had a hand on his hip while a thick book was lodged under his armpit. He looked at him directly in the eye, his determined expression not faltering. “I hate you and your stupid face”

Derek was taken aback by the bold comment, that he moved his head back and tipped it to the side. “Really now?” he said amusedly.

“Will you lay off of our backs? What the fuck did we do to you guys?”

“We?” Derek said, narrowing his eyes. He spotted Scott standing up and merely watching them. He smirks, turning his attention back to the boy in front of him. “ _You_ could stay out of our way for starters” Derek said smugly.

Stiles laughed hollowly, and almost dropped the biology book on his foot. “How about _you_ and your pack of wolves go hunt off other people? I mean…” he let out a frustrated sigh “why _me?_ ”

A hand was brought up to the forehead and Derek pouted in mock-thought “hmm, let’s see…” he rolled his eyes then stared down at Stiles “nope. Don’t think I’ll be doing that anytime soon”

The freshman looked like he was about to shout something, so Derek went on. This time, in a much lower voice “I’m really busy now, so till next time again? Go on and play with your little friends, eh? I’ll see you around, Stilinski” He patted his shoulder then walked away in the same casual pace.

Stiles stayed rooted in the spot, trying to understand again _what the fuck happened_.  After about five seconds of recovery, he turned around to see Derek running a hand through his hair, his white cap in his other hand.

“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF—” he lifted his arm in attempts to fling the huge book at the retreating figure, only to be stopped by Scott tackling him to the side.

Scott tried to straighten them up once Stiles was off-balance “Stiles! Stop it! Calm down!” he said, releasing his best friend from his grip. He then tried to pry out his book and eventually had to slap Stiles’ hand so that he would let it go.

He stepped back and watched as Stiles level out his breathing “dude. What did I _just_ tell you? Stay away from the Direwolves” he shook his head “ _especially_ from Derek Hale”

Stiles suddenly turned towards Scott and grabbed his shoulders “He—” he started. _‘He knows my last name’_ he thought to himself. He wanted to just rant to Scott, about how it was his fault that the grand-dick-of-all knew his name. But it felt strange. A bit too intrusive on the awkward but intense moment that occurred minutes ago. There was still a faint tingling sensation on his shoulder which Derek tapped on earlier.

“Stupid jock” he said lamely. “I hate his guts till eternity. I hope he trips and falls and destroys his stupid everything”

Scott was just nodding serenely, a small smile playing on his lips. “Okay, okay. It’s okay buddy, just let it all out. Although…” he looked around and glanced at one of the clocks plastered on the walls “it would be best if you could just forget about everything Derek Hale and start reviewing plant ana? Remember the final exam that we still have to get through with today?”

He turned towards Scott with a long face “I’m going to die this semester, am I not? Please take care of my dad for me”

Scott promptly hit Stiles on the head “get your shit together and _stop thinking about those wolves,_ okay? Come on, we still have about an hour to study” he turned to go back to their bags and started to settle back in

“Stop thinking about them. I can do that” Stiles consoled himself, as he followed his friend’s path back to their things.

 

–--

 

Easier said than done.

It was finally the weekend. Stiles, Scott, Matt, and Philip were at The Den to have a late breakfast, in celebration of finals week being over. They pulled another all-nighter over a friendly game of WoW, making them all riled up instead of sleepy. Philip, in his extreme excitement (and over-dosage of caffeine from the past days), suggested that they all grab some breakfast then crash afterwards.

“You're completely _insane_ ”Stiles told his roommate, as they trooped out of the room and Philip turned to lock their door.

“I know! But it must the all the coffee talking now, so let's just go before I crash horribly later” Philip replied joyfully, ushering everyone outside to Stiles' jeep.

Stiles wanted to laugh now as their food finally arrived. Philip was already snoring lightly beside Matt, falling asleep minutes after they gave their order.

“Should we wake him up? Is he really like this?” Matt asked Stiles, glancing sideways at his fellow Engineering freshie.

He stood up and leaned over the table, reaching at his roommate. He then proceeded to lightly tickle the area behind Philip's ears. “Wakey, wakey!”

It worked instantly: Philip's eyes opened and he blindly swung his arms around and started to bat Stiles' hands away. “Hnnngg...Go away Stiles” he mumbled

“Aha! Who's crashing horribly now, huh?” Stiles said, sitting back down and watching his friend yawn and stretch his arms.

“Yeah, yeah. Save it for later Stilinski” Philip grumbled, picking up his fork and poking his waffles sleepily. “Didn't I order coffee?” he asked, looking around the table.

Scott was cutting his stack of pancakes in smaller pieces as he answered “Oh. Stiles cancelled your order”

“What? No I didn't” Stiles said, kicking Scott under the table “They said that...uh, they ran out of brewed coffee”

Philip narrowed his eyes at the person in front of him, as he shoved a forkful of waffles. He cast a sideward glance at Matt instead “did he really?”

Matt shrugged “Sorry man. Wasn't paying attention”

“Conspiracy! I let you guys crash in the room and this is how you repay me?”

“May I remind you that you're talking about _our_ room?” Stiles said. “Beside man, if you drink more coffee now, you'll be bouncing up and down and we might be forced to actually throw you out of the room”

“Now, now. Let's just finish up here so that we can sleep the afternoon away...” Matt commented, taking another bite from his sandwich.

Everyone eased into a light conversation about simple tips and strategies that they learned and used during their game. More and more people would fill in the small cafe, and the noise inside the cafe amplified that Scott and Stiles had to lean forward as Philip explained some DnD tips he learned from his brother.

“Philip?”

The freshie stopped mid-sentence and looked up “Oh hey! Danny!” he stood and waved at the person standing beside their booth.

Scott, Stiles, and Matt all turned their attention to the junior hovering beside them. Scott elbowed Stiles' rib, as the other merely stared. _'This can't be happening'_ Stiles thought.

“How are you man? Didn't know you went to school here too” Danny said, his voice cheerful. He was looking at Philip, completely unfazed by the three other pairs of eyes directed at him.

“Ah, well. You know the family. Need to uphold tradition and all that...” Philip answered, scratching the back of his head. “You? How's everything?”

Danny smiled then narrowed his eyes “Still the same. Pretty sure you've heard stuff around campus though...”

“Yeah, yeah. Lacrosse team, scribe, business course...” he shrugged. “Still the same Danny then”

A shrug “Well, just like what you said. Family traditions and all that” He then peered at their table and commented lightly “a bit too late for breakfast?”

“It's a Sunday. It’s never too late for breakfast”

Danny chuckled “That's true” his eyes then traveled to the entire group. “Working of final requirements then?”

Philip shook his head “No, no. Just breakfast in celebration of hell week being over” he then smacked his head “Shit sorry! Right, this is Matt, Scott, and Stiles” he said, pointing to each of his companions. Then gestured to the other student “Guys, Danny Mahealani. Goalie of the Direwolves”

“Matt, Scott, and Stiles...” Danny repeated, smiling widely. “I've had the pleasure of meeting Misters Scott and Stiles before, yes” he nodded, then reached into his pocket for his phone. He glanced at it and his smile grew much wider as he looked up at Philip again. “You guys should totally come over at the after-game party at Jessie's place”

Philip looked around at his companions, seeing their confused faces “are you sure we can go?”

“What? Yes, of course! Provided that you guys cheer for the right team on Friday night”

“Hmm...”

Stiles wanted to stand and shout protests, but Philip answered before he could grab at the table “We'll be there then!”

He threw a betrayedlook at his roomie, but Philip wasn't paying attention. Danny just nodded before continuing “Great! If ever anyone would bother you guys when you arrive, just say that you're my guests. No one's gonna bother afterwards...”

He glanced briefly towards the general direction of the door and spoke “Listen, I've really gotta go. Still have to finish stuff and deal with practices later. Still got the same number, man?” he directed his question to Philip.

“Yup. Still the same one”

“Right. Gotta go. Enjoy your breakfast guys” he finally said, as he walked briskly towards the door.

Stiles straightened up to see where Danny ran off to. He regretted it a second later.

There, standing by the open doorway, was Derek. He was wearing a gray cap, plain white shirt, black running shorts, with his mouth set in a thin line. He was fiddling with his phone, and glanced up just in time to see Danny. The goalie whispered something to Derek, making the captain look up from his phone. He grinned, shook his head, then quickly scanned the crowd.

“Howl for the wolves, wolves let's go!” he suddenly bellowed.

“Wolves let's go, wolves let's go!” the crowd answered in reply. Some even struck their tables with their hands or stomped their feet. A few seconds later, everyone stilled and a few people howled, tipping their heads up.

Derek clapped loudly then said, “thanks a lot guys! We'll see you Friday night” He held his hand up in a small wave. He scanned the crowd again and spotted Stiles. Derek made eye contact, smirked, then _winked_ , before he turned to exit the cafe.

Stiles grimaced, then decided to just over-analyze what's wrong with that man later on. Preferably after a long, uninterrupted nap. He was not going to allow such a _dick_ to ruin his lazy Sunday.

“Okay. What is it with all the _howling_?” Matt remarked, just when Stiles leaned back into his seat.

“Standard pre-game chants...” Philip said calmly, chasing a stray berry on his plate with his fork. He narrowed his eyes at his companions “oh c'mon. Don't tell me you guys don't know about this?”

“We actually don't know a lot of things...” Scott said, folding his arms across the table and eying Philip suspiciously “Let's start off with... _how_ the heck do you know the wolves' goalie?”

“Oh, Danny? We actually grew up in the same neighborhood...” Philip started, relaxing back into his seat. “He used to teach me all sorts of useful things about computers and electronics, and this really jived with my family's lineage of engineers...”

Stiles glared at his roomie “all this time...you have been fraternizing with the enemy...” he said in a low voice

“The...enemy? Danny's an _enemy_?” Philip asked, not quite understanding Stiles

“They're all dicks, _especially_ their dick of a captain Derek” Stiles muttered, folding his arms across his chest

“Wha—”

“Oh don't mind Stiles” Scott interjected “he's been having...let's say, a _wolf problem_ ”

“Should I be concerned about this?”

“Nah” Scott answered, waving a hand “Let him deal with this...”

“This is YOUR fault!” Stiles exclaimed, punching his best friend's shoulder.

“OW! Okay...I think we'd better go now, before we start beating each other up”

“Agreed” Matt said, standing up and stretching his back. “Our time is short! At once!”

“Yeah yeah, we hear you druid...” Philip answered, sliding out of their booth and resting his hands on Matt's shoulders. He started to steer him towards the exit, “for Kalimdor!”he exclaimed

Both raised their fists up, as they walked steadily towards the door. Scott shook his head as he laughed, then shouldered Stiles when he noticed him not moving. “Hey man. Alright there?”

“m' fine” Stiles answered, rolling his shoulders. “Just...let's go? Before I get too sleepy to drive”

Scott had a confused lookon his face, but he just clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder and led him out towards the door “Right. Let's go find those druids and get the hell out of here then”

 

–--

 

Jackson picked up his phone from his table after walking out of his bathroom. He stared at the contacts list, his eyes flickering at the time displayed. He raked a hand through his wet hair then scrolled down, hitting the 'call' button once he got to a specific name.

The other line picked up after about ten rings “Hello?”

“Danny. You busy?”

“Uh...” there were papers being shuffled around before a reply came “a bit, but I could use a break. What's up?”

“I wanted to ask something about Derek”

There was a pause “What about him?”

“Do you remember those times before, early freshmen days, when he was too much of a stuck-up?”

“Are you referring to his bullying streak, fresh out of high school?”

“Yes. That one”

“You _do_ remember that that didn't last for too long, right? Only for a couple of months, then he finally got over himself after coming home from winter break...”

“Yes. But nevermind that one. I just...haven't you noticed anything _strange_ with him lately? I mean, you have been hanging out with him too, right?”

There was a chuckle “Is this still about the run?”

“No, no...this is different...” Jackson walked over to his bed and sat down on the corner “it was...the other week, I think? He got coaxed into bullying someone at the hallway”

“Really?” Danny answered, his voice perking up “who else was with you guys?”

“Carlos...” Jackson rolled his eyes as he answered “Derek probably took that as a challenge to his reputation or position, whichever”

“Well, you know Derek. He doesn't like it when somebody threatens his alpha-ness...it's just the way he is...”

Jackson scrubbed his head, unable to say what he meant “no...it's not that either...He was...” he thought back to the time at Barrows “He doesn't actively bully someone out of a whim. And after he did that, he was really _angry_. I could practically feel his anger off him in waves. And wait, here's the really strange thing,”

“What?”

“We had a program meeting afterwards, and his mood suddenly changed. Like, _a huge change_. It was like he didn't just shove someone towards a trash can and—”

“Wait. What trash can?”

“Derek. Shoved some freshman to a trash can”

“A freshman, huh?”

“Yup. And I kept on finding reasons about it, but nothing makes sense. Recruitment period has been over for a month, so I doubt this has something to do with family or fraternity. Either he's regressing into his past self, or he's...going through something” Jackson rambled.

Danny kept silent from his end of the line. He wasn't sure if he had any right to tell Jackson off, but that was the only explanation available. He was Jackson's best friend too, and he really didn't want to lie to him.

“Danny?”

“Hmm?”

“What's wrong with Derek? Do you have any idea?” he had a concerned tone, which was very unusual for Jackson, but Danny knew better.

“I...actually do. But Jackson...” Danny said, leveling his voice. “Don't. Be. A. Dick. To Derek afterwards, okay? I mean, not more than your usual but...” he sighed “give him a break, okay?”

“Right. Got it. Tone down on the douchbaggery and be a _friend_. Yeah I can do that. Now _what's up_?” he asked urgently

Danny hesitated for a second. It was going to be better for Derek, right? At least his two best friends were in on his big secret. He could help Derek with his feelings, and Jackson could probably tell the others to lay off Stiles.

“Okay. Don't freak out...” Danny started. Jackson sat up, straining his ears to hear better. “Derek is sort of developing a... _thing_...towards a freshie...”

“A thing” Jackson repeated

“Yup”

Jackson narrowed his eyes, not quite believing the words he just heard “Are you kidding me?”

“Why in the world would I kid about a thing like this?” was Danny's simple reply

“Well, I don't know...but _why_?”

Danny laughed on the other end “You know Derek and feelings; they don't exactly mix together well. He said that he found the freshie 'strange'. In _my_ opinion, I think he's really curious and would like to know more about the kid...”

Jackson grimaced at the thought of Derek _and_ feelings. Not that their captain was heartless, but he has known him to be completely in control and goal-oriented. There were several girls gunning for the captain, even when he was just a freshman in starting line. Every single one of them was rebuffed, being fed with the standard reason of ‘focusing on studies’.

“Do you think he's finally allowing himself this?” Jackson wondered

“Good point” Danny answered “Perhaps. But, we'll never know if he will really allow this to happen. Or will he just turn down everything. But from his actions recently, he's showing that he _cares_ ”

Something suddenly occurred to the sub-captain “Wait a second. That kid. At Crescent Lane. Was that why you—?”

“Yep. And that's the real reason behind Derek's frustration that day”

Jackson has never felt like a total jackass until now “Oh jesus. I feel like I should bow down and ask for more forgiveness...”

“I think he's gotten over that event already”

“Does this mean that Derek's suddenly playing for _your_ side of the spectrum now?”

“Any problem with that?”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise “Dude. You _know_ I don't have any problem with that. It's just a bit hard for me to understand”

“More like hard to believe...”

Jackson had to laugh at that remark. “It's just hard to believe that Derek is allowing himself this” he smiled despite himself “Is this all a big secret? Why hasn’t he told me? Should I even know about this?”

“Uh, yeah. About that…” Danny paused momentarily, trying to think of a reasonable reply “I’m guessing that he can’t bring himself to admit whatever this is. So, I suggest for you to _not_ let him think that _you_ know”

“But I _already_ know”

“Well…give him an excuse or something. Like you noticed something funny and you jumped to conclusions”

“Just me? How about everyone else?”

“That too. Can you feign innocence in front of the entire team? I don’t want them to know. No offense, but I don’t think they can handle such news right now” he sighed audibly “I don’t think Derek can handle any more ‘threats’ to his alpha-ness, so as I mentioned before: let’s keep the status quo of the wolves”

“That’s…” Jackson rubbed his left temple “that’s really well-thought of. Feels like a secret mission of sorts”

“Question is: are you up for it?”

There was a bark of laughter “who am I to back down on this strange challenge? Protect and serve the alpha status of Derek Hale. Yeah, I can do that”

“Jackson” Danny called out. “One last thing”

The sub-captain was caught off-guard by the sudden shift of mood, but responded anyway “What is it?”

“I was really serious about not being a dick to our alpha. Don't make him feel uncomfortable with this. Act normal. Don't make him think that you know...or that I told you”

“Hey. As you said, I can always tell him that 'I've been watching you' or something'”

“Creepy...”

“Really?”

“Whatever man. I'll see ya soon, okay?”

“Yup. Thanks man”

 

–--

 

Sleep was good. It was really amazing. Nothing beats the nice warmth of sheets and the comfort of a good bed and super soft pillows. On top of that, it was the week after finals, and there was this unspoken need to just catch up on much-deserved and uninterrupted sleep.

But everything can just turn into a nightmare when your warm blanket is wrenched away from your back, and you get hit by a pillow. _Hard_.

“WAKE UP STILINSKI!”

Add to that, your roommate bellowing at you.

“COME ON STILES!” Philip shouted, raising his pillow to whack the other on the back.

Stiles grumbled and blindly tried to grab the pillow, but only grasped at air. Philip laughed at Stiles' frustrated groan, then sat heavily on the side of the bed. “Stiles! It's a bright new morning! Let's not waste it on sleeping!”

“wharuawake”

“Say again?”

The teen lifted his head sleepily “why are you awake at this hour? I mean...” he snatched his phone by his headboard and read the time “It's eight in the frickin' morning, Philip. What are you doing awake at this time? Hopped up on caffeine again?”

“Something like that...” Philip mused, then took out his phone from his sleep pants. He tapped on the screen with his nail then continued “I kinda need a small favor from you”

“Hmm?” Stiles mumbled, letting his head fall on his pillow and yawning a bit “I'm listening”

Philip hesitated for a moment, and stopped tapping on his phone. “Will you be my sentinel?” he suddenly uttered out.

Stiles whipped his head up and looked at Philip with a wild look. “Am I dreaming now? Because that kind of didn't sound correct”

“Ugh. No, no. It's not....whatever you're thinking okay? It's, uh...”

“Then explain to me, good sir, what you meant by that” Stiles said, twisting his body so that he was sitting up and leaning on his headboard.

“Well. It's like this...” Philip started. “Danny, uh, sent me a message last night. It was just very casual, saying that he wanted to meet after their practices to catch up”

A shrug “So? What's the problem?”

“He texted me again this morning, inviting me to watch their practices. It got me interested, because hey, it's lacrosse, and I've always wanted to watch a game...live”

“There's the game on Friday night” Stiles pointed out

Philip frowned “Yeah, yeah. I know about that. But there's going to be so many people, and it's going to be really strange...”

Stiles blinked, trying to process everything that he was hearing. He suddenly remembered his observations about Philip, and concluded that he was just as socially awkward as he was. He wasn't really interested in the silly game, but he could probably do this.

“Right. Lacrosse. Practices” he said slowly “why'd you need me again?”

The Engineering freshie grinned “So I overheard that you have a _wolf problem_ , and thought that I'm doing you a favor of sorts...”

Stiles rolled his eyes and hit his head on the wall behind him. Really, even his roommate?

“...and yeah, nice fresh air, not a lot of people, and we can probably scrutinize them wolves while they work hard and—”

“Okay!” Stiles exclaimed, kicking Philip on the hip, He didn't need any mental images this early in the morning “Stop talking and it's making my head hurt” he rubbed his eyes. “Did Scott send you to do this to me?”

Philip stood up and stretched “No. This is all me”

“Are you sure?”

He looked behind him “Yeah. I was just curious on what's going on with you and Derek Hale”

That took Stiles by surprise. And his face must've shown his guilt because Philip moved his head to the side and added “gotcha...”

“Wha— I...” Stiles opened his mouth dumbly, at a loss for words.

Philip took a step back “Now, now Stiles. Let's talk about this at the Jeep. And yes, _of course_ we're taking a car” he started to tug on Stiles' ankle. “Up! Up! Shower!”

“Okay okay!” there was a kick and a shove, then Stiles was standing beside his bed. “Such a pushy little night elf” he commented, throwing his pillows carelessly to make a messy heap at the middle of the bed. He turned to see Philip with a worried look on his face.

“Oh come on man” he said lightly, clapping a hand on Philip's shoulder. “This Worgen's got your back today, okay?”

Philip gave a small smile in return, then walked back to his closet to get his things. “You know, you can turn this offer down...just sleep off the day or something.

“Nah...I think a bit of fresh air will be good...” Stiles answered, walking to his own closet to retrieve his things too. “Beside, you're right. No use in wasting the last few weeks here in campus. Might as well do _something_ while we're still here”

“Yeah, like watching the practices of the wolves...”

Stiles wanted to react to that, perhaps deny whatever he has been thinking and _feeling_ for the lacrosse captain. He tried to sound casual with his next words “Phil. There’s really nothing, honestly…”

He turned around and didn't see Philip anywhere. He shook his head, feeling a bit more stupid, before walking out of the room for the bathroom.

 

 

When they reached the field, the entire team was huddled by the side of the bleachers. They were sporting two different colors: half of them were wearing maroon jerseys while the others wore plain white shirts. Everyone was holding onto their lacrosse sticks as they crowded around Derek, listening in to his words.

“Are we too late?” Stiles asked, as he sat down on the bench Philip directed him into.

“Huh?” Philip said, bending a bit forward so that he could see what the team was up to. They were about five steps above the ground, so it was easy to see everything. “Nope. I think Alpha Derek is just briefing them on their play”

Stiles nodded, leaning on the seat heavily. He noticed other students in the bleachers, most of them in groups of four or more, talking amongst themselves. Seemed like practices were also a common destination after finals too. He managed a small chuckle “Right. 'Alpha Derek' huh? Is there some rule when it comes to captains or something?”

Philip pouted, then sat down beside his friend. “I guess you can say that? I'm honestly not so sure myself, but a couple of my classmates were talking about some freshman who got week of corporal punishment from his councilor because he did not 'give due respect'. Never really understood everything though...” he sighed out loudly, then side-eyed Stiles “maybe you can ask him when you get to know him...”

“What are you saying again?”

“Oh nothing!”

They lapsed into silence after that, still watching the team below them. Everyone finally dispersed and took their respective positions on the field. A whistle was blown, and the two opposing sides scrambled to take possession of a tiny, neon yellow ball that was being passed around using their lacrosse sticks. Stiles tried to understand the concept, but felt like it was a bit too easy. He has handled far more difficult  strategies, usually when playing WoW. He squinted his eyes, spotting Derek do a complicated spin and duck when someone tried to block his way. He ran towards the goal posts, where Danny stood at the ready. Derek swung his stick, propelling the small ball towards the top corner of the goal. The entire team stopped to look at the Danny, who still had his arms outstretched.

The goalie dropped his arms, turned, and picked up the neon ball. A few players laughed, and Danny ripped off his helmet and broke into a grin. “Dammit, fine! Drinks are on me tonight then!”

There were cheers from the others, as they all took off their helmets and all walked nearer Derek. The captain lifted his helmet off and looked around at his teammates. “Alright. Drinks at The Blue Monkey later at eight, compliments of Danny. Easy time, so I doubt you guys will miss out on this. Let's see...” he reached inside his pocket, but didn't pull out anything. “Fuck. Okay, I left the line-up list somewhere, so we'll just talk about that tomorrow”

“Practices?” Jackson asked

“Yes. During practices. We'll move it up to eleven o’clock, because I know you guys are _horrible_ when playing during a hangover, so no” he grinned, then looked up at the sky. “Yup. Dismissed for now. I'll see you guys later, okay? Anyone who skips _might_ be benched indefinitely next semester...” he nodded then turned, heading for the foot of the bleachers where all of their things were.

“Oh look, they're done” Philip commented, seeing five guys grab their bags and march out of the field together. Danny walked nearer Jackson, whispered something to his ear, then looked up to where they were seated.

Stiles noticed this and immediately ducked his head down, pretty much ashamed that he was here. He heard his companion chuckle, but still didn't make a move. He took out his phone from his pocket and went over his messages, faking the impression that he was busy with something. He glanced at the events happening every now and then.

“Hey. I'm heading out to _The Den_ for lunch. Anyone who wants to go or needs a lift?” Jackson announced loudly.

“Oh great! Alex and I were supposed to head on over there. Mind if we join?” Ralph answered

“Sure! Mitch, how about you?”

“Uh, I'm meeting Liza for lunch, so no thanks” Mitchell replied

“Where? Need a lift?”

Mitchell hesitated for a while, then just threw his hands in the air. “Fine. You said you're heading for _The Den_ right? Could you drop me off at Silliman Tower?”

“Didn't intend to go through that path, but sure. No problem. Let's go?” Jackson said, fishing out his keys from his bag. His three companions went ahead, talking amongst themselves. Jackson hung back, looking at Danny and Derek. He turned around while walking backwards, then did a discreet fist-pump, before turning back and jogging away.

Philip glanced at Stiles, who was still 'busying' himself with his phone. He smiled, finding it a tad bit ridiculous that his roommate was a failure at hiding emotions. He actually thought that Stiles was a pro when it came to extreme feelings and secrets but here he was, feeling even more anxious.

He started to feel bad for dragging Stiles to an uncomfortable situation. He already guessed as much that Stiles' wolf problem wasn't much of a problem, but he figured that a little push towards the root cause was more effective that simply ignoring it.

Speaking of ignoring it, is that Danny climbing up the stairs?

“Uh oh...” he mumbled lowly. From the corner of his eye, he caught Stiles look up and become very, very still, phone resting in his right hand. “Bear arms, Worgen. The time has come” he whispered, before putting on a smile as he looked up at the athlete walking up to him.

“Hey Philip...Stiles” Danny said, nodding to the both of them. “You guys know Derek?” he continued, gesturing at the man walking up behind him. Derek stood beside the goalie, glanced at Philip briefly before planting his eyes on Stiles, looking at him curiously.

Danny nudged Derek's side, making him cough a bit “Oh hey guys. You Danny's friends?” he said cheerfully

Philip automatically nodded, but Stiles didn't make a move. He stared up at Derek, a bit sweaty and standing a foot away from him. He chewed on his bottom lip in mild frustration, clueless on what to do.

It was Derek who moved first, stretching his back and rolling his shoulders “Right. Sorry, I have to go now, but I guess I'll see you guys at the game?” he said, then turned to Danny. “Hey man, gotta go ahead...”

“But—”

“I have to fix up some things for Uncle Peter before he gets here. Apparently he had reasons why he was dropping in for a visit”

“Business and talks?”

Derek shrugged “sorta. You know them...”

Danny chuckled “I do. Alright, I'll see you tonight then?”

“Yup! I'll call you or something...” Derek was about to walk down the steps, but he stopped. “Philip and Stiles” he called out, making the two freshmen look at him.

“It was good seeing you” he continued, flashing a smile then went on his way to the foot of the bleachers. Swinging his bag on his shoulders while gripping on his lacrosse stick, he left the field in a relaxed pace.

Stiles' brain was still swimming from the new track that was Derek's voice saying his name, when he was suddenly tickled in the ribs. He yelled, then glared at Philip who was laughing at him.

“Stop daydreaming Stilinski! Wanna join us for lunch?” Philip asked, still grinning widely.

“Huh? What?” he muttered, reeling back to reality. “Nah. Wouldn't want to interrupt your much-needed bonding time with your former neighbor” he smiled back. “Besides, I still have to meet Scott today to talk about his laptop”

Philip gave him with a strange look, but rolled his eyes afterwards. “Suit yourself. At least I accomplished my mission for today”

“Yeah. You were able to watch them wolves in peace”

“Wrong!” Philip exclaimed, poking the side of his friend's head “You and Alpha Derek know each other already! Yes! Now, give it a bit more time before...”

“Before what?” Stiles interrupted, narrowing his eyes

“Oh, I don't know! Depends...” Philip said nonchalantly, standing up and stretching his arms up. “Shall be going now. You sure you don't want to go? I still owe you for today”

“Nope. And you can pay me some other time. Might want to go back to sleep or something, so enjoy” Stiles replied

“Or daydream some more over Derek's hotness, I don't know. I'll see you back at the dorm” Philip said mischievously.

Stiles sighed out loudly “Seriously man, what is up?”

“I dunno man. You tell me. Your wolf problem is getting more and more noticeable. You sure you don't want to do something about that?”

“Dude. As you mentioned earlier, _Alpha Derek_. Maybe that's the problem here” he sighed some more “well, whatever. See ya later” Stiles continued, standing up and walking away from Philip to use the side stairs.

He walked back to his jeep and drove back to the dorm, wanting to just crawl back into his bed and sleep the day off. He could always tell Philip that Scott's laptop was miraculously working again, since there was no problem in the first place anyway.

And if he woke up to a dark room, mind still going over a dream that involved being held above eight feet of pool water by Derek Hale, no one was there to take notice of the sweat rolling down his temple or the thumping heart in his chest. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five is here! I apologize for the short update for this, but I decided to cut the chapter here before the more exciting/action-filled ones up ahead. Hope you guys are enjoying the story and flow of events. Shall be disappearing once again, in hopes of immersing myself in actually finding a way around stupid plotholes here and there. Anyway, here we go!

 

 

The next morning found Derek lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His phone rested on his chest, where there were several voice mails and missed calls, all from Danny. It was almost noon; a clear indication that he failed to wake up in time for practices, and that he was at least an hour late. However, he couldn't seem to care that he needed to oversee his team's last practice, or that he hasn't briefed everyone of the lineup for tonight.

Shit. The lineup. Derek rolls on his side and shuffles through the bedside table for the small, folded piece of paper under his car keys. He was about to key in the names but hesitated and took a picture instead. Attaching the picture to a blank message, he typed in **_‘lineup for tonight. Danny, please brief everyone on this, and Jackson, keep the boys in line. I'm fine; just too many thoughts right now to deal with practices. Sorry. I owe you guys one. Thanks’_** then sent the message to his two best friends.

A minute later, his message tone alerted him. It was from Danny, which read **_‘Good to know you're still alive cap'n. Jackson's running laps with the team, and we'll try to do a mock-play with the lineup. Want us to head over there for lunch or something?’_**

It was a tempting thought. If they were going to do a mock-play, practices won't end until past 12. This left Derek with roughly an hour to pull himself together before he'd see Danny and Jackson. He opened up another blank message and typed **_‘sounds good. I can order pizza, and if you guys want anything else, just bring them over’_**

He sent the message and sighed out loudly. He allowed his hand to tap on the blank screen of his phone, while he started to massage his right temple with the other. It was true that he had too many thoughts, but he knew that he had the capacity to push those aside in order to oversee practices. Yet here he was, captain of the lacrosse team, still in bed and under the covers at 11:56 in the morning of game day. 

He should be outside in the sun, shouting at his team to keep pushing themselves, or maybe pitching suggestions for strategies. But he really had to deal with his freshie problem before the game. And the after-party.

The problem is, he never knew how to deal with his feelings. And he never really addressed it until right now.

What should he do exactly? He literally ran out of words yesterday after their practices, when he was officially _introduced_ to Stiles. He considered it a miracle that he was able to say anything, with the way that Stiles was staring up at him, chewing on his bottom lip like a fucking idiot.

Derek growled at the room at large when he recalled the sight. “Dammit” he muttered out.

He threw the covers to the side and stood up. As he walked to the bathroom, he did a mental note to order pizza. He promptly ordered two meat pizzas and a shrimp and garlic one for Jackson. He looked around his unit and had to say “wow. I've been busy...”

The apartment was a _huge_ mess. There were a couple of shirts in a heap just outside his bathroom door, most of his books were on the floor around his desk, and there were a lot of random things on his bedside table and the edge of his bed. He started to fix his bedcovers, then sorted out the things on his bed and bedside table.

Arranging the books was easy if he wasn't so much of a neat-freak. His brain _insisted_ that he _at least_ arrange the book by genre or subject matter, which wasn't so bad compared to alphabetical order or date of publication. It must've taken him some time, since the only time that he stood up was to get the door for the pizza, and he was partially done with his books.

About fifteen minutes after the pizza arrived, the doorbell rang again. Derek dusted off his hands and looked at his neat bookcase, pretty much proud of himself that he managed to fix them up in a decent manner. He walked to the door and opened it, seeing Danny with two bottles of juice under his arm. Jackson peered from behind the goalie, holding up a box and grinning widely. “I brought chicken! And your favorite breadsticks!”

Derek shook his head “I can see that. Well, come on in. Pizza's getting cold...” he stood aside to give way for the two, then closed the door behind him. He noticed Jackson snickering to himself as he laid the food on the low coffee table, then made himself comfortable on the armchair. He smiled widely at Derek.

“Let's eat!” Danny said from behind him, clapping a hand on the captain's shoulder and leading him towards the couch. Derek was starting to have a weird feeling that his friends were up to something.

Little did he know that they did.

  

 

“So, what's the deal with you and this freshie huh?”

Derek almost spat out the orange juice that he was chugging down. He choked on it instead.

“Hey, hey! Ease up on the OJ, Derek. We still need you for the game tonight” Danny said amusedly, tapping the back of Derek as the captain heaved a breath.

He recovered after a minute, setting his cup down and sitting up straight. He shot a dirty look at Danny, then said “you filled him in on _my_ problem?”

“If I didn't, I couldn't have introduced you so nicely to Stiles with Ralph, Alex, and Mitch hovering around the field, am I right?” Danny grinned.

“Yeah! I helped clear the field for you to take a shot...” Jackson said in defense

“...which he _completely_ failed at” Danny commented, looking across at Jackson

“Seriously? It was the perfect opportunity! What the heck happened?”

“Simple. He escaped”

“ _I didn't_ ” Derek gritted out

“Yes you did” Danny challenged. He then sighed and eased back his tone “Really Derek. What happened? I thought you wanted this? Unless...”

Jackson seemed to understand what Danny was thinking, as he added “he's flaking out?”

The two juniors looked at their friend, waiting for a response. Derek looked from Jackson to Danny, then bowed his head down with his hand on his forehead. “I just don't know what to do” he said in a small voice.

Jackson chucked a bread stick at Derek’s head, making the captain look up and frown “what was that?”

“Exactly my question man” Jackson said, taking a bite from the fresh bread stick he was holding. “Really? You’re giving up because you ‘don’t know what to do’? How about you stop over-thinking and just let things happen?”

Derek just stared at Jackson, like he was being crazy

“And don’t give me that look. If you want this to work, you need to let go and just take a fucking leap. No harnesses, no boundaries…”

“Just love” Danny added

Both of them snickered and howled, toasting their pizzas together. Derek had to smile at the display of idiocy in front of him. God, he loved his best friends so much.

“Okay okay. So you failed a while ago. There are many other opportunities in the future! We’ve got your back” Jackson said, leaning back on his chair. “Heck, if you tell us to go fetch, we'll gladly bring Mister Stilinski over at your doorstep...” his eyes widened as he looked at Danny “dammit, we should've done that today”

“No, Jackson. If we _did_ that, then we might not have a captain for the game later” Danny answered in an even tone, but he was smiling.

“You guys have me” Jackson said smugly

“Hmm, you're right”

“Guys...” Derek groaned “why are we talking about this?”

“Because! You need to sort out your shit today, and your two best friends are very much ready to help. Thus, what’s the plan of action for the after-party then?”

“I thought…I’m not supposed to have a plan?”

“That’s the spirit!”

Derek stilled for a moment, replaying Danny’s words again “wait a second. Plan of action…after-party” he pieced everything together “did you…invite Stiles…to the after-party?” he asked slowly

The goalie bit his lower lip “it was supposed to be a surprise so…surprise!” he said cheerfully

The captain groaned again and leaned heavily on the couch, speaking miserably “Danny…why did you do that?”

“Derek. I am helping you here with your freshie-problem so will you get your shit together and stop acting like some teenager with a hormonal imbalance, okay?”

Jackson laughed “good one” then looked at Derek. “Dude, just chill out, okay? You know what? Don't think about it first. We'll get through the day, one event at a time. Now,” he rubbed his hands together “let's get down to some other business, okay? Danny...”

“Right” the goalie nodded, as he brought out his tablet “Captain, there was a minor ruckus about your line-up, so we had to tweak it a bit...”

They talked about their practices, the changes in the line-up, and also discussed a few strategies. Derek easily loosened up, immersing himself in the talk and glad that he was still able to be updated on their practices even if he wasn't present.

“Bench Carlos...” Derek suddenly muttered

“Wh-what?” Jackson said, pausing mid-discussion with Danny to look at the other. “Are you serious?”

“Does it look like I'm kidding? I want him out of the field before I fucking murder him”

The sub-captain narrowed his eyes but nodded “Revenge of the Captain...but, we need Carlos for this game”

Derek let out an annoyed sigh, because as much as he wanted to kick Carlos out for manipulating him, the sophomore was exceptionally good in lacrosse. “Alright. Put him back in on the second half”

“Got it” Danny said, scribbling down a note on his clipboard. “Anything else you want to add, or is this okay now?” he handed his clipboard to Derek, who examined it carefully.

“This is fine” Derek answered, giving it back to Danny and propping his legs up on the table. He glanced at his watch and noted that it was almost four. “Is everything in order? No other concerns?”

“Well...” Danny trailed off, looking at Jackson for a second “you tell us Derek. Is there anything that we should be concerned with?

He knew exactly what Danny was referring to, but was pretty grateful that he didn't voice it out loud. “Calm down guys. I promise I won't...uh, kill Carlos? But you might have to restrain me if things get out of hand. Also...” he raised his voice, promptly stopping Jackson from speaking “I'll just...play it cool at the after-party later. I'll drown my sorrows in vodka if need be”

“God, I never thought I'd live to see the day when emotional Derek would make sad jokes” Jackson shook his head, then stood up to lightly punch Derek's shoulder. “Cheer up! The wolves will rip those falcons to shreds later. And...we can enjoy the party at Jessie's, alright?”

Danny stood up too. “We'll go now, and we better see your crazy alpha-ass in the locker rooms, ‘kay?”

“Yeah yeah...” Derek replied, standing up to follow them towards the front door. He leaned on the door jamb, then called out at the pair before they headed for the stairs. “Jackson! Danny!”

They turned at the same time.

“Thanks. Thanks a lot”

Danny snorted but was smiling, and Jackson saluted him with two fingers “howl for the wolves...”

“For the wolves” Derek answered. He noticed Danny shift from his spot, and mirrored Jackson’s salute. “Guys…” he said slowly, perfectly understanding what was happening, and getting a chill down his spine. He stood straight and watched, as Jackson and Danny both knelt on their left knee and bent down their heads.

“Allegiance to the Alpha, we hereby reaffirm” Jackson spoke in a clear and steady voice

His face stiffened, as he automatically answered “Granted. Allegiance stands. You will arise”

The pair stood up, but kept their heads bowed down. Derek exhaled loudly, leaning against the wall “why did you do that?” he directed his words at Jackson

The law student glanced at him briefly but didn't move otherwise. “I apologize, Alpha Hale. But we really need you today. You, Senior Alpha Derek Hale”

He closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over them. He hasn't heard his full title in verbatim for the longest time, as only a handful of people outside his family knew about it. Sometimes, he was thankful for the fact that he and Jackson belong to separate groups but unfortunately for him, Jackson knew about the level of respect that his title calls upon.

Derek suddenly felt exhausted. He'd love to just forget about all his obligations, but he has been trained this way ever since he was ten. “Drop formalities. And get out. Now. I will see you in a couple of hours”

No other words were exchanged, as Derek listened to the footsteps fade more and more until the door to the apartment complex was slammed shut. He turned to walk inside his unit to try and collect his things.

“Alpha status, huh? I can most certainly do that”

 

 

Once they were outside on the sidewalk, Danny shook his friend's shoulder to stop him “You went overboard. You know that he doesn’t like that treatment from his pack, especially from us”

“I know. But his current state will not help us, I guarantee it. I’ve known him for _years_ , Danny, and believe it or not, this is it most effective way for him to concentrate back on the important things”

“You also _do_ know that he had a really difficult time in getting over the pressure of his status, right?”

Jackson looked up at the sky and heaved a breath “That’s why I’m hoping that he’ll forgive me after the game”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say: It's four in the morning in my country right now (at the moment of posting), and I've been feeling annoyed and slightly depressed because of work, that I can't sleep now. Thus, I've decided to spend whatever energy I still have into editing fic and actually posting it. 
> 
> Publishing one just for now, but I'll update another one (or two) again really soon. How are you guys finding the story so far? I'm quite thankful for all the hits, kudos, and most especially comments that you guys leave. I'd love to respond to all of your questions, but I'm too afraid that I might say something spoiler-y.
> 
> Anyhow, here's chapter six! (still can't believe I've come this far) :D

 

“Aren't you ready yet?” Philip poked his head in the bedroom for the nth time and had to raise an eyebrow when he saw Stiles sitting immobile on the side of his bed, still wearing his ratty shirt and boxers.

“Uh...Stiles...” Philip called out, walking inside their room and closing the door softly. “Did I miss something?”

“Huh?” Stiles mumbled out

Philip blew air through his mouth loudly and walked towards Stiles' bed. He sat on the floor, directly across the other and folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. Spill. What happened?”

“Nothing”

“Is this about the game?”

Stiles' body jerked the slightest bit, but Philip noticed it instantly. “Dude, relax. It's just a lacrosse game. If it really bothers you, you can just stay here. Do something else”

Stiles shook his head “No no. It's actually not about the game”

“Ah. It’s the after party then?”

Hazel eyes looked directly into blue-gray ones before eyelids closed over them and Stiles threw himself backwards on his bed “oh my god Phil what the heck am I going to do?”

Philip immediately stood up and started tugging on Stiles’ legs “Oh no you don’t! You are not allowed to bail out on me now! I owe you one, and I will make sure that you have the best end-of-semester day ever!”

Stiles stopped struggling and had to chuckle “Okay wow. That was a mouthful. Could you say that again, so that I can challenge you with something even more epic?”

The engineering major knocked on Stiles’ knees, making the other yell in pain “Stiles come _on_! You need to get out of the bed, go watch the game with me, call upon our brethren to feel like privileged little freshmen who get to attend an exclusive non-freshmen party, and be passed out and not remember anything in the morning”

“I like the sound of that...maybe except the “attending the party” part though. Can we just fast-forward to the “waking up in the morning” bit instead?

Philip stood up and scrubbed on his head. He raised his voice just a bit and adapted a stern tone “Stilinski. Get your lazy ass out of the bed and take a freaking shower now. You need to look presentable at the game _and_ the party”

“Right, right. Okay!” Stiles answered, sitting up and giving a half-hearted kick towards his friend's knee. “It's just a game, right? Just...” he sighed “just a lacrosse game”

“Yes, that's right. Now, shower and change” Philip walked towards their study desks and fished out for the jeep's keys. “And since you're feeling horrible and I still want to live to see tomorrow, I'll drive...” he squinted “if you don't mind, that is?”

Stiles had to whip his head around swiftly at those words “what the heck man. You can drive? How do I know this just now?”

There was a shrug. “Let's just say that I only drive when there's an emergency, and _this_ , clearly is an emergency” he threw the set of keys then caught them again. “Time's a-wasting!”

“Okay okay! Going now!” Stiles said, grabbing his towel and making his way to the bathroom.

 

 

It was already 6:28 in the evening, and Philip was maneuvering the jeep out of the parking lot. He already yelled at Stiles to hurry up, before rushing out of their room and dorm. He set the jeep in “park” and exhaled, staring out at the darkening sky and remembering the message he got from Danny a couple of minutes ago: _**‘Hey Phil! See you at the game, yeah? Please do me a humungous favor and make sure you drag Stiles with you. Someone might get thoroughly upset if he doesn't show up. And come on, why in the world would you turn down a 'by-invitation-only' after-party?’**_

It took Philip only two seconds to understand who Danny was referring to. And this actually made him giggle embarrassingly, that he was glad that he was alone as he went down the stairs.

He was pretty proud of himself for having the amazing insight of dragging Stiles. And, from his friend’s message, it seemed like his suspicions were a hundred percent accurate.

He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, now quite anxious of the time, that he almost jumped out of his skin when the passenger door opened and Stiles clambered in.

“What?” Stiles asked, hands still on the handle of the door, which was still wide open

Philip shook his head, then wiggled his eyebrows once he noticed the change of clothes “looking good! Is that a new shirt?”

“Uh...” Stiles mumbled, looking down at the shirt that he was wearing. He hated the fact that Philip was right; that the charcoal gray henley he was wearing _has_ never been used, and instead has been sitting at the back corner of his closet since he started school last fall.

He also hated the fact that he decided to use this brand new shirt when he was about to meet the stupid jock whose voice has been on a default 'repeat' in his head.

Stiles pursed his lips in a thin line “ah...not technically? It's just been at the back of my closet, and it was the only decent looking shirt that I have. With proper sleeves” he added.

“Right” Philip answered, drumming his fingers on the wheel. “Well, got everything? Are you good to go? Mind shutting the door?”

Stiles raised an eyebrow and did as he was told, pulling the door closed and settling in his seat. It felt really strange for him to be the passenger in his own vehicle, when he _knew_ that he was very much capable of driving. He instantly noticed when Philip tried to shift to first gear “Er, yeah. The clutch is really deep, and the gear sort of sticks in second…”

He got a blank look from his friend “thanks a lot for the advice. I actually realized the deep clutch when I backed up the jeep. Lucky I’m used to that kind of setting, as my dad’s old pick-up had the exact same problem” Philip answered, flashing a quick smile before the jeep started to move and soon enough, they were out of the lot and on the road.

True to Stiles’ word, the gear stuck to second and Philip panicked for a moment. His cool demeanor broke, and the jeep emitted a cranking noise that grated on their ears. “Clutch!” Stiles said, taking hold of the gear stick and shifting it properly into second. The jeep jerked uneasily, but ran smoothly once Philip shifted into third. 

Stiles let out a sigh of relief, as he met Philip’s eyes as they both turned to each other.

“Well, just sit back there and let me handle this. You’re in one hell of a joy ride” Philip said, smiling widely.

“Yay…” Stiles answered in a mock-excited tone.

 

\---

 

“You okay?”

“Hmm?” Stiles replied, and looked up from where he was currently chewing on the hem of his sleeves. He stuck his tongue out when he saw Philip’s face distort into disgust

“Eew, man. Stop chewing on your clothes like a teething baby” he said, knocking Stiles’ arms away from his mouth. He leaned back and looked at his friend. “Okay, just no. This is not going to do…”

“What?”  
  
“Raise your arms forward will you?”

Stiles complied automatically, too bored to actually resist the silly request. He allowed Philip to pull up his sleeves in a casual manner, narrowly avoiding the damp edges. However, he had to speak when the other’s hands traveled up to his hair.

“Okay, hold on one second” Stiles said, moving his head out of arms reach. “What are you doing?”

“Making you presentable” was the simple reply

“…by messing my hair?”

“Hey, isn’t your hair always messy?”

“That’s not the point!” Stiles answered exasperated. Yes sure, his hair was a constant mess ever since he started university and allowed it to grow out, and not having enough time or money to actually have it trimmed. “You’re…messing it _more_ than it usually is”

There was a shrug “And your point is?”

“My point is: what are you doing exactly?”

Philip shrugged “Okay, okay. I told you that I’m making you presentable, right? Just the minimum amount of hair-tousling, and rolled sleeves to make a specific _someone’s_ head turn and take notice”

Stiles narrowed his eyes in a suspicious way, then realization hit him. “Oh god. Are you… _pimping_ me out?” he gagged a bit as he said those words.

“Glad you’re finally up to speed, Stiles. Now…” Philip passed his hand randomly through the longer-than-usual hair, messed it up, then leaned back to admire it from a fair distance. “There. Just the right kind of look”

Stiles looked up, then grabbed his phone and looked at his reflection from the blank screen. “Dude, my hair…”

“…is perfectly messed up, you’re welcome” Philip settled back into his seat and rolled his shoulders. “Now, stop minding yourself and let’s just watch the game. They should be starting soon”

Stiles sighed but didn’t say anything afterwards. He sat up, seeing the opposing team in blue and yellow gather in the other side of the field.

Loud cheers suddenly sounded around them, prompting Stiles to look around for the source of the commotion. Philip sharply tapped on his shoulder and pointed down at the base of the stands. There, walking out in an organized line, were the Direwolves. Everyone was decked in their school colors of red and…

“Hold on. Why are they sporting red and black instead of red and white?” Stiles questioned, eyes still drawn to the team forming a small circle below them.

“You know what? I never understood that either. Maybe Alpha Derek doesn’t like white? Or the lacrosse team is so almighty that they get to alter their uniform colors as they please?”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. If they're as good as most people say, then the administration probably won't care”

Philip just nodded, eyes glued on the team. Stiles blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to get rid of the prickling sensation that was starting to annoy him. “Oh christ what the hell” he muttered to himself, standing up and digging into his pocket for his glasses. He cleaned the lens with the hem of his shirt then wore it as he sat back down.

“Lacrosse huh? Let's see how this is played...”

 

\---

 

Stiles can't believe that he allowed himself to sit through this ordeal. He felt like he was being punished into watching a murder take place. There was just so much _violence_ in the field that he found himself turning away every time a player collided with another.

“Geez, is it always this violent?” Stiles had to shout

“Oh yes. Lacrosse won't be the same without the usual dosage of foul play” Philip shouted back. He turned towards Stiles “Well, these guys like to play rough, but there are other teams who play fairly. Unfortunately for you, the wolves and the falcons are quite notorious for playing dirty”

“I can see that” Stiles replied, then turned his attention back to the game. He watched as a player named Smith strike an opposing player with his stick, making the falcon fall back and drop his own with the ball rolling out. Smith quickly scooped the ball and hurled it towards another player…

Which happened to be his captain.

Derek caught the ball perfectly, then ran towards the red goalposts. Two other wolves followed him until they were lined up beside him. They cleared the way until Derek was about three meters from the goal. He jumped and swung his lacrosse stick.

The ball zoomed past the goalie's left ear.

And of course that was all it took for the wolves to take the lead, until a loud buzzer sounded and the bleachers erupted with cheers and howls. Stiles jumped from his seat and searched for the scoreboard, reading a 7-6 and '0:00' for the score and time respectively. The sight made him immensely happy, clapping his hands and howling a bit for good measure.

“OH MY GOD WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!” he shouted at Philip, who was still shaking his arms up and yelling at the top of his lungs

“YES WE DID! YES WE DID! AND...oh my god” his voice suddenly faltered, letting his arms fall down and instead caught Stiles' chin so that they were both looking down at the team.

There they saw Derek, amidst the busy and boisterous crowd, standing straight with his helmet and stick in one hand. He was smiling widely, and he was looking towards their direction.

Stiles could practically feel the intensity of that gaze even from his seat.

He thought _'well fuck it'_ and smiled at the captain, doing a low clap to show his appreciation for the victory. He mouthed “congratulations” and saw Derek about to reply. However, he was suddenly ushered out by his team mates until they disappeared beneath the bleachers.

“And he scores!” Philip suddenly exclaimed, punching the air.

“You're crazy” Stiles said, shaking his head

“And you...are one lucky bastard” Philip stretched upwards “How are you feeling about the party now?”

Stiles' eyes went wide “I am trying _not_ to think about the party, and would just like this night to be over as soon as possible”

“Well come on then! We still have to find the others before we actually get to the party”

“Right, right…” Stiles answered, taking his phone out and following Philip towards the stairs. He went through the unread messages and immediately read the one from Scott. He groaned loudly then rubbed at his cheek in frustration “Scott can’t make it”

“What? Why?” Philip replied, walking to Stiles’ side and tried to peek at the open message in his phone.

“Unfortunate case of stomach flu” Stiles answered, keying in his short reply of **_‘you suck. I hate you right now’_** then hit ‘send’. “How about Matt? Any news from him?” he asked.

“He's good to go. I asked him to meet us at the parking lot”

“Did he watch the game?”

“Yeah, he did”

“Oh well. I guess it's the three of us then?”

Philip clapped Stiles on the shoulder “At least, you've got me and Matt to be your backup tonight”

Stiles' eyes widened “oh my god do I really need backup to this party? Am I going to get murdered tonight? I need to draft out my last will and testament and...”

“To the car, Stilinski! Let's go!” Philip suddenly said, shoving Stiles towards the jeep. “The wolf of your dreams awaits your awesome presence”

As they neared the jeep, they spotted Matt leaning against the side. He waved at them as they approached then adjusted the strap of his bag.

“What's that?” Stiles uttered, moving his sight towards the bulky black bag.

“Camera. Took a couple of shot during the game, and I thought of submitting them to the paper...”

Stiles arched his eyebrow “The Cal Herald? Good luck with that man. I heard they're really particular with the pictures that they use. But...” he smiled widely “it would be great to see your stuff in the paper.”

“Thanks Stiles. I...really want to contribute to the community”

“Ooh! Pictures! Lemme see them later, yeah?” Philip said, swinging the door to the jeep open and climbing in to unlock the other door. “Party time boys! Get in the fun jeep!”

“What's up with him tonight?” Matt whispered the Stiles, as he waited for the seat to be pulled down.

“He's...excited that he gets to drive the jeep. And well...” Stiles stepped aside to allow Matt to climb in “about the party too”

“Excuse me!” Philip exclaimed, waiting for Stiles to shut the door. “Not as excited as you, sir!” he poked Stiles' shoulder to prove his point.

“Yeah yeah. Let's get going then?”

“Which way?” Philip allowed the jeep to idle for a while then faced his two passengers.

Stiles just stared at Philip disbelievingly “don't you know the way?”

“Nope”

“Well, at least directions to the place?”

“Oh right!” Philip answered, grabbing his phone from the dashboard and scrolling through his message box. “Danny sent me a message, but I wasn't able to map it out earlier...”

He showed them the small chunks of text, and Matt had to lean forward to be able to read it. “Was Danny drunk when he sent you this?”

“I dunno. But it seems understandable.  I mean, there are street names at least...”

“Well then, let's get going already. We might miss out on all the action”

Philip nodded, backing up the jeep and exiting the parking lot.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I said that I would post a chapter before the year ends, so here it is! Unfortunately (for me, at least), I wasn't able to finish the entire story before the year ends. I'm still hoping that this fic won't reach it's one year anniversary because wow @_@
> 
> Anyway, here's chapter 7! I added a companion fic for one part of this chapter, and provided a link within the story. I'm actually posting this right before I leave the house for a New Year's Eve party! Also, next chapter's appearance will be in the distant future. Thanks for all the support for this fic! Hoping everyone has an awesome 2014! :D

   


After about an hour of bickering with each other, passing around Stiles' phone (which had the entire campus map displayed), and Matt taking it upon himself to be the official navigator of the group, they finally took a left on “Geister” Road and drove down to the only house with “picket fence with a terracotta hue”. Philip expressed his confusion about the word, but Stiles answered, “it’s the color of those clay pots”

“Yup! Terracotta picket fence there! I see it!” Philip said excitedly, stepping on the gas pedal a bit too much, making Matt roll backwards in his seat.

“Phil! Slow down! We'll get there...okay...” Matt said, seeing Philip stop in front of the row of reddish-brown picket fence.

“Parking?” Philip asked

“How about at the end of the line? Up ahead?” Stiles suggested, feeling his jeep move forward until it was beside a black vehicle.

Philip moved the jeep until he managed to park it perfectly behind the last car parked. He yanked on the brake then beamed at his two passengers. “We're here boys! It's party time!”

“Yeah. Almost an hour later...”

“Hey! It's not my fault that the directions were too cryptic for all of us to understand”

“Well, A+ for the team effort guys” Stiles mentioned, opening his door and swinging a leg out.

“Right! Matt, pass here, will ya?” Philip said, making eye contact with the other.

Matt looked at him dubiously, but got out through the driver's side nonetheless. “What's up?” he muttered lowly once he was out of the jeep.

“The Worgen needs serious backup tonight. Although...I doubt that we can actually do anything if _someone_ decides to capture and take him tonight...”

“Someone's interested in Stiles?” Matt replied, smiling a bit

Philip couldn't help but grin and shake his head “Oh, you have no idea”

“So, why does he need backup then?”

“We're freshies...about to walk into a den of Direwolves and upperclassmen. I think we _all_ need to watch each other's backs...”

Matt just nodded, then stretched up. “I'm leaving my camera here, if that's okay? I wouldn't want it smashed or anything. Although, it's completely tempting to bring it for evidence”

“This is the reason why technology created smartphones with excellent camera specs okay”

“Hey guys! What's the hold up?” Stiles yelled from the other side of the jeep.

“Point the way”

“Anu'dora”

Stiles slowly turned his head to look at the other two. “Archer. Druid. Stop it, okay?”

“Bear arms!” Matt suddenly exclaimed, making Stiles laugh out loud.

“Okay, okay. Let's go already? Our invitation might be voided by this time” Philip said, locking the door on his side. He walked towards Stiles and saw him do the same. When Stiles didn't show any signs of moving, he led Stiles by the elbow and started to tug him along. “Stilinski, now is the perfect time to move. And be jolly. And stop over-thinking”

The trio crossed the front lawn until they were all standing on the door step. Matt rang the doorbell and the door was pulled open after a few seconds, revealing a very alluring girl in a turquoise tunic and black shorts.

“Hello?” she inquired in a sweet voice

“Where's the party at, Miss Jessie?” Philip asked, all shame and respect totally forgotten

The girl moved her head to the side and smirked “Let's see. No one calls me 'Miss Jessie' except douchebags or freshmen. So, I'm not sure which category you guys belong to”

Stiles rolled his eyes while Matt shook his head. Philip nodded then cleared his throat. “Apologies. We're actually guests of Danny Mahealani”

“Danny, you said?” her voice quirked up, all interested “He did mention something about inviting a group over. Are you perhaps...Phineas?”

“Philip, actually”

“Ah, whatever” she batted a hand carelessly and stepped back. “Tell me something” Jessie said, as she led them inside and paused at the foyer, turning around “Freshies or douchebags?”

“Freshies. Definitely” Stiles answered, looking around the party.

“Well boys. Enjoy the party. Try to...behave yourselves, okay? However, that's not mandatory” she winked at them flirtatiously, before walking away.

They all watched Jessie as she joined a group of guys, accepting a red cup from one of them and laughing along. Philip stood in front of his two friends. “First order of business! Pay respects to our ticket in. Oh, and don't be too awkward...”

They started to move through the house, taking in the sights and sounds around them. They navigated through the messy living room, then stepped into the adjacent kitchen.

“There’s Danny” Matt told Philip, tapping his fellow freshman and pointing towards the sink area.

The other two looked and immediately spotted Danny, talking to three other guys. The goalkeeper waved them over once he looked up “hey guys! Come on over here!” he shouted above the noise

Philip walked over, followed closely by Stiles and Matt. They squeezed through, and the other two guys beside Danny actually stepped back to give way.

Once Philip was close enough, Danny threw his arms around him, exclaiming “oh my god guys! I seriously thought you wouldn’t make it already!” he released Philip and pinched a cheek. “Philip m’boy! What the heck happened?”

“Rerl” Philip mumbled, shaking his head free from Danny’s hand “Well, we couldn’t understand your directions, so it took us a while to understand it and navigate through”

“Not to mention finding the ‘picket fence with terracotta hue’” Stiles quoted

At this, Danny took notice of the other two freshmen “Stiles!” he turned towards Matt “and…you!” he chuckled “you’re here! Congratulations on making it!”

Stiles and Matt just looked at each other and exchanged grins.

“Boys. As an official welcome to this party, I prepared something nice to kick start the evening…” Danny nodded at the guy beside him, making the other shrug then exit the kitchen. His eyes traveled to his companions. “Oh fuck. Sorry. Manners. Almost gone” he chuckled then continued, “Philip, Matt, Stiles; meet Ralph and Earl. Wolves, hold attacks; they’re friendly”

The two athletes raised their cups and smiled a bit, before continuing with their conversation.

A minute passed before Danny’s other friend reappeared, now bearing a rectangular Tupperware filled with liquid and multicolored globs. He set the container down on the middle island bar and smirked up at Danny.

“Yes yes. Thanks a lot for this Mitch. What was the hold up?” Danny asked

“Jackson was being an ass all over the hallway”

“Isn’t he always an ass anyway?” Ralph commented

“Huh. You’re right” Mitch answered, sitting on one of the wooden stools “Well, he was being a _drunken_ ass then”

“There we go then. Great characterization man” Earl said

“Oh shut up, Major English” Ralph sniped, but he laughed lowly afterwards.

Danny clapped his hands twice, catching the attention of the freshies. “Okay. Task for you guys. We have here a pool of gummies… and cups…” he held out a hand and a small stack of white, two-inch paper cups were placed in his hand by Mitch. “Take a cup, fill it up with juicy goodness, and bottoms up. Easy, yes?”

“Uh…”Stiles muttered, eyeing the swimming gummies dubiously.

“Oh come on! Exclusive party, alcohol…”he paused for a second “alcohol, and…oh you get it right? Fine, I’ll take a shot at it too…” he pulled a cup from the stack and scooped up some gummies until it was filled to the brim.

Philip copied the action, and was followed by Matt then finally Stiles. Mitch took a cup too and did the same. However, he immediately took the shot, tipping the cup until it was empty.

Matt adjusted his grip on his cup, and glanced at his companions. “For Kalimdor?”

Philip was laughing as Stiles answered “as you may”, and the three of them tipped their cups and took a mouthful of gummy bears.

Stiles chewed through the jelly candies, swallowing the liquid with every bite. He heard Philip gasp then ask “what the heck is this Danny?”

“Drunken gummies! Good, right?” he crushed his cup afterwards. “You guys better get used to it, since you'll have to finish this entire thing”

“What” Matt said in a flat tone.

“I'm serious guys. Another round?” he held up another cup and smiled wickedly.

“Oh god” Matt answered, rolling his shoulders. “Bring it on then!”

“Ah, what the hell” Stiles said, shuffling towards the counter and scooping another shot. Maybe it was time to just enjoy the night.

 

\---

 

People flitted in and out of the kitchen in regular intervals ([including Stiles, who needed to take a quick break _at some point_](../../1111737)). Slowly, they worked their way through the box of globs trying to get used to the taste and the conversation that went along. Several cups of gummies and a lot of campus secrets later, Jackson wandered into the kitchen, then leaned heavily on the wall. “Danny boy!” he yelled, seeing Danny demonstrating a complicated movement with his arms. 

“You're finally here!” he raised his arms up, and waited until Jackson walked up to him and shake his head, snickering a little.

“Jackson. Hello to our most valued guests” Danny moved his hands and gestured towards Stiles, Matt, and Philip.

Jackson's eyes traveled from Matt to Philip then to Stiles. He raised his cup to his lips, then drank heavily, eyes not leaving Stiles.

Stiles pursed his lips in a thin line, feeling a bit apprehensive. He rubbed the back of his neck in a casual manner, but he couldn't prevent the grip on his paper cup from tightening as Jackson stepped forward.

“Man! I—I…um, I really s’rry for before…that time” Jackson babbled, raising a hand and resting it on Stiles' shoulder heavily. “Y’know. At moon walk…”

“Crescent Lane, you mean?”Stiles answered, smiling a bit as a wave of relief washed over him

“Yeah! That…place. I’m really bad, I mean” the junior chuckled “Just, I’m sorry. Do you understand me?” he tried to look at him seriously

Stiles shrugged, but decided to just humor the upperclassman “Sure! Why not? Yeah, I hear you man!” he raised a closed fist in front of Jackson’s face “here, blow it then”

At this, Jackson did a strange thing with his eyebrows as he raised his chin and reared back “Ugh, no thanks man. I’m pretty…sure, that Derek can help you out there”

It took Stiles about five seconds to fully comprehend Jackson’s words. By the time his brain understood the bizarre statement, he couldn’t fight the blush that crept on his cheeks as he thought “ _oh…_ ”. His arm fell to his side as he watched Jackson stumble away from him, trying to hold on to his cup with both hands.

“Dude”

He looked around and saw Philip frowning at him “you okay there?”

“Y-yeah” he pinched his nose and nodded “just fine”

Philip shrugged, then went around the counter, observing Matt set up something on the surface.

“Jackson!” Danny suddenly called out.

The blonde stopped and turned, then quirked an eyebrow

“Where’s Derek?” he yelled

“He’s uh…he’s ut…at the patio I think still”

“Who’s with him?”

Jackson scrunched his forehead as he thought “That was, Carlos, Annie, Ralph, Donna, Mary and Jane…”

Danny smirked “wait a second…he’s with Mary and Jane?”

“Yup”

“Did you join him earlier?”

“Yup”

“Good job, man”

“Yup”

Danny had to laugh, as he hauled himself up on the counter. “There's uh...food in the living room. If ever anyone's hungry” he said to no one in particular. He rubbed his hands on his pants then braced his arms at the edge of the counter.

“I'm going to wander around a bit. Bathroom, then maybe scrounge around for chips” Stiles announced, needing a bit of air

“Go ahead man. Free country and all” Danny waved him off. “There's a bathroom under the stairs” he added as an afterthought.

Stiles nodded, then glanced at Philip and Matt, who were playing some sort of shooting game on the island bar, using a spoon, three cups, and some gummy bears. Matt cheered out loud when he successfully launched a fat, red gummy inside a cup. Stiles walked out of the kitchen, heading for the stairs. Seeing that the bathroom was still occupied, he shoved his hands in his pockets and peeked at the adjacent room.

The living room was in a state of chaos. Stiles stood at the archway, taking note of the wide four-seater couch, and the low coffee table where a couple of girls sat. There was a long, white table where a multitude of bottles and red cups were scattered. Girls laughed, guys cheered, and the music from the dock speakers continued to play a smooth, upbeat track that made Stiles feel like he was in a club rather than a house party.

He heard the distinct click of a lock, and he turned to see a petite brunette with short hair and a large chest emerge from the bathroom. She looked up at him and suddenly smiled, moving her head and batting her eyelashes at him.

Stiles offered a small smile, before he nodded then ducked inside the bathroom. After relieving himself, he checked his reflection on the mirror. It was the first time during the entire evening that he saw the amount of damage he got from his roommate.

His hair was messed up, but it was done in a way that it was _still_ pleasant-looking. His cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol and the heat from the kitchen, so he splashed some water from the tap.

He completely forgot that he was wearing his glasses.

“Dammit” he cursed, taking them off and setting them on the side of the sink. Grabbing a paper towel, he dried his face then proceeded to dry his glasses. He was tempted to just keep them, but years of having bad eyesight taught him that it was always better to just wear his glasses while inside a crowded area.

He straightened up, exhaled a breath, then rolled his sleeves further up his arms. He then picked up his glasses, wore them, and threw a silent prayer to the heavens that he won't get into any sort of trouble before he was safely back to his dorm room.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he was about to head for the living room but something caught his eye from the right side. He looked and somewhat froze on the spot.

There were a few people at the foot of the stairs and the foyer, and everyone was busy with their own business of making out or idle chatter. However, there was only one person who was moving with a definite direction in mind. That person was wearing gray running shorts and a white shirt that was translucent with sweat. And that person was getting closer and closer _and closer_.

Derek stepped up to Stiles, equal parts high and drunk, then says “want a hit?”

Stiles, unsure of what or how to respond, looks up at the older man and nods slowly. He could practically hear the thrum of his heart because of the sudden proximity. Derek moves his head to the side, takes a puff from the small joint between his fingers, then draws his mouth nearer Stiles'. 

The freshman has done his research beforehand, and practically knew how this was to be dealt with. However, the application was a bit difficult. Stiles angled his head and closed his eyes, feeling the slight brush of lips against his own. Then, a warm puff of smoke passed into his mouth and he had a fraction of a second to suck in the air through his open mouth. Just when he felt the smoke travel downwards, Derek had firmly pressed his mouth against his.

Admittedly, Stiles has tried getting high before, when it was just him and Scott and their very ordinary high school lives. This time was completely different.

He exhaled slowly through his mouth, and this made Derek draw back a bit. His brain-to-mouth filter decided then to fail him as he whispered, “you're the smoke that gets me high”

Derek looks at him through half-lidded and hazy eyes, and there's a noticeable crinkle at the edges as he smiles.

“You’ve been driving me insane for the past weeks, freshman” he starts to say “there needs to be…something done here”

Stiles blew a breath, feeling a bit hard to breathe “agreed” he whispered

“Let's go?” the junior asks softly

“Where?”

“Anywhere, everywhere, somewhere...just with you”

Brown eyes widened, as his brain tried to process the words that were spoken. He felt Derek’s hand settle on his hip, the grip just a bit tight. Derek moved his head closer until his chin was slightly resting on Stiles’ shoulder.

The freshmen felt the hot, heavy breath moist up his neck. There was a hint of stubble that scratched against his skin, making it a bit itchy. He took a step back, mildly surprised that the lacrosse captain was alert enough to take a step forward.

It was a bad move, Stiles realized, as he was now stuck between the wall of the archway and Derek frickin’ Hale. His hands started to wander carelessly until they found Derek’s wrists. He looped his thumb and index finger on each; gently, carefully, afraid that this was too much for either of them to handle.

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked, voice barely above a whisper. He needed answers, and he needed them fast.

“What are _you_ doing?” Derek asked back

Stiles exhaled heavily, trying to think clearly. “I don’t know” he finally answered. His brain was running out of logical responses, and for some unknown reason he just couldn’t push the junior away.

“I want you, Stiles” Derek said, maintaining the same volume as earlier. “You. Everything. All of you. Can I?”

Stiles couldn’t prevent himself from chuckling at those words. “Who knew that you were capable of saying those kinds words, huh?”

Derek smiles. Stiles feels the movement against his own cheek. He misses the contact instantly, as Derek takes a step back, and tugs Stiles by the hands.

“Let's go?” Derek asks again

Stiles swallowed “O-okay” he stuttered with his words

All of a sudden, Derek drops their linked hands, and walks around to stand behind Stiles. He drags his nose along the line of Stiles' nape, making Stiles tip back his head. A warm hand replaces it a second after, slowly rubbing smooth circles.

Stiles allows Derek to steer him towards the front door wordlessly. They stop momentarily by the coat rack, and he watches Derek pick out a black leather jacket. However, he didn't wear it, and instead draped it over his arm.

The younger one had a brief moment of realization, and he stilled. It must've been too sudden, as Derek noticed it instantly, moving to face Stiles. His eyes were no longer hazy, and Stiles was able to stare into the clear, green depths.

“Are you sure about this?

“Are you?” Stiles answered back

There was no response. Instead, Derek leaned forward and landed a small kiss along Stiles' jaw, just under his ear. “Is this an okay answer?” he whispered.

“Fair enough”

 

Everything was a blur from the moment they stepped out of the door. The air was cool and crisp, making Stiles slightly more alert. He recalls being ushered inside a black vehicle, a steady drive, a warm hand on his thigh that stayed until they reached their destination. No words were spoken as they entered a fancy-looking apartment complex, and Derek offered his hand as they climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

And once they were inside Derek's apartment, caution was thrown out and boundaries were immediately crossed. Articles of clothing trailed behind them, and frantic hands would touch everywhere.

Derek pushes Stiles backwards on his bed, pinning him down on the plush covers. Whispers and hurried breaths fill their ears and the silence of the room.

“ _Please, please, please_ ”

A whimper, a slight arch of the back, the mattress dipping further.

_“Yes”_

They rise, they fall, they welcome sleep. Stiles settles on Derek’s chest, his head directly over the other’s heart. The steady beat lulls him to sleep easily, his eyelids falling close.

“Stiles”

He manages a grunt, but does not stay awake to hear the next words, nor to feel the gentle hand scratching the back of his head.

“ _I think I love you_ ”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [EDIT July2014]: COMPLETELY revamped because after weeks of being stress-free and actually immersing myself in this world, I realized I posted the wrong document. I AM DEEPLY SORRY. I promise this won't happen again ugh. I wanted to bang my head on the wall for such negligence T_T
> 
> Here's the revamped chapter8_v.2. For real this time.

Derek opens his eyes and squints at the faint sunlight streaming into his room. Thank god he had the foresight to invest on really good curtains, else he'd be sporting a massive migraine from yesterday's events.

His mind started to work as he recalled the game. He eased a breath, trying to get rid of his Alpha mindset. Damn Jackson for calling him that. Of course, he couldn't blame the law student, since it was all true. He _is_ an Alpha to a team and an even larger group. He's just been shunning it away as much as he could, trying to live a life with less politics and trouble.

Something moves, making Derek quickly turn his head sideways. _So, it really happened huh?_ he asks himself. Stiles was beside him, on his bed, under his covers. Derek rolled on his side and somehow admired the sight just inches away from him.

Stiles was also on his side, facing Derek. His face was completely relaxed, and his mouth was slightly open, releasing a puff of air every so often. A hand was tucked under the pillow he was using, while the other was just beside him, folded in an awkward angle. The junior allowed himself to touch the pale skin, gently laying his hand on top of Stiles'. His thumb sought out the pulse point, closing his eyes to listen to the slow breath and the steady beat.

He was about to fall asleep, but a distant aching thought kept on bothering him. When he opened his eyes once again, Stiles was already awake. His honey-colored eyes were wide, _a bit too wide_ , and that was when Derek only noticed that the freshmen's pulse started to pick up.

“What the—” were the first words that tumbled out of Stiles' mouth

Derek bit his lower lip. “Last night...” he started

“Oh my god...” Stiles said. His eyes moved from Derek's face, to his bare chest, then finally to their hands. He shuts his eyes tightly, then opens them again, only to blink rapidly and look around.

“Stiles. Look at me”

Pulse still racing, Stiles blinks normally but his forehead is still creased in confusion. “H-how do you know me? And I'm sorry, who are you?”

At the last statement, Derek flinched away and lifted his hand from Stiles' own. He tried to answer, but he didn't know what to say.

Stiles grimaced, then spoke once more “Uh, right. I'm sorry. Don't...panic. It's just that I have hyperopia, and I need my...”

“Glasses” Derek finished, calming down immediately. He was thankful that he understood the term, even if the last time he heard it was two years ago.”Just a second” he continued, sitting up and reaching at the bedside table on Stiles' side. He laid back down, and unfolded them. “May I?” he gestured, holding the open pair of black glasses in front of Stiles.

There was a nod, and glasses were gently fitted over. Stiles looked around, then returned to staring right back at Derek. “Oh...”

“Hi”

Something immediately clicked in Stiles’ mind, and he let out a scream “OH MY GOD. WHAT THE HECK IS THIS? I MEAN, WHAT AM I DSKJLMN—”

Good thing that Derek was alert enough in the morning, as he quickly moved his hand to cover the freshman’s mouth, muffling the noise. He grabbed the pillow beside him and was about to smother the other but Stiles was able to free his arms and shielded himself.

Honestly, Derek didn’t think this over.

They both stilled, but Stiles still tried to squirm away. Finally, after a bit of shoving and wiggling, Derek backed down “keep quiet. You’ll wake up everyone” he said in a rough voice.

Stiles was at the edge of the bed and was panting. So much for a nice morning “D-Derek Hale?” he choked out, unbelievingly. “What the heck are you doing here?” he looked at the bed, at the ceiling, at the tall bookcase in the far corner “I mean, where in the world am I?”

“In my room”

“What? Did you tie me up and drag me here or something??”

Derek grimaced “don’t you remember _anything_ from last night?”

“Well, if you drugged me and did something while I was out then—” he suddenly stopped, gasping a bit “oh my god. Did you feed me to your wolves or sell my organs??”

“No”

Stiles was getting more apprehensive with the junior’s extremely calm state “then what am I doing here?”

There was a sigh “Seriously? You don’t remember _anything?_ ”

“ _What_ am I supposed to remember?”

Derek nodded his head “C’mere”

“Why?”

“Just move a little closer, will ya?”

“No!”

There was a noise that could only be described as a slight growl “fine. You asked for it” Derek said, as he crawled towards the other person and pinned him to the mattress.

“W-what?”

“Shh” Derek said softly, as he pressed his lips against Stiles’ in a soft kiss.

The simple contact made Stiles’ brain jumpstart, reacting to the action. His hands clutched on the sheets, his back arched a bit, and he exhaled through his mouth.

The junior slowly drew back, noticing closed eyes and parted lips. Stiles let out a deep breath, then spoke “so, you drugged me last night”

“I guess you remember then”

Stiles opened his eyes “hmph”, then he mustered whatever strength he had and rolled on his side, sending the two of them to the floor.

Good thing Derek didn’t bother keeping the large area rug when he first moved in the apartment, as he landed back first on the furry material with Stiles on top of him. _‘On top of you’_ his mind so kindly reminded him.

“You hate me then brought me here! For what? Some kind of athlete experiment?” Stiles said, voice rising.

“Who said I hated you in the first place?”

“Well let’s see…” Stiles said, sitting on the junior’s belly “you terrorize me and my friends, you always have this stupid death stare that you have to send towards my way all the time, and, of course. May I remind you about that time you _shoved me towards a garbage bin?_ ”

“Admit it Stiles. You’re enjoying this” he suddenly sniped

“I… _what?”_

Derek’s mind was going crazy, as he could practically feel Stiles bouncing on top on him. _Focus, Derek. Just focus._ So instead, he observed the emotions passing through Stiles’ face: amusement, disappointment, confusion, then some unreadable blank look.

He continued on, lifting his arms and settling them on Stiles’ thighs “would you mind hearing an explanation from me?”

The freshman crossed his arms but otherwise didn’t move “let’s hear it then”

How was Derek going to explain himself when he truly believed that there was _nothing_ to explain in the first place? “Fine. First, let’s get one thing clear: I don’t hate you, or your friends”

“Then why—”

“Second” Derek cut him off “ _god Stiles, I can’t believe you forgot everything from last night”_

Stiles sucked in a breath, anticipating what comes next.

“I like you. Like, a lot. I like you a lot Stiles. And it’s been driving me crazy that—”

“Alright. I remember” Stiles suddenly said. He actually _did_ remember something being said to him just a couple of hours ago, amidst all the haziness and drunkenness. He looked at Derek and frowned “oh god, what’s going to happen now? I still hate your guts because of all the things that you did from before, and I—”

“I’m really sorry about all that” Derek said in a small voice.

Stiles looked at the other in a dubious way, but noticed the unguarded expression that the lacrosse captain wore.

A few seconds passed and Derek propped himself up on his elbows and sat up, holding down the freshmen’s thighs to keep him from standing. “I’m sort of stuck in a situation where I’m the star athlete of the university, but I like this insignificant freshman who has been occupying my thoughts all the time”

“Don’t forget that this ‘insignificant freshman’ is actually good-looking, and is currently sitting on the most idiotic jock that this university has to offer. Also, said jock has an insanely attractive voice. Not to mention attractive _everything_ ” Stiles added, amusement somewhat evident.

Derek had to bow his head to hide his smile. _Freshmen’s got some snark too_. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about that fact” he answered, as he looked up.

“What are we going to do about this then?”

“I’ve got a few ideas…maybe relocating from this floor to the more comfortable bed just beside us”

“We could just sleep in, or not. It’s a weekend anyway, unless you’ve got something else in mind?”

A sudden thought revealed itself to Derek, as he replayed what Stiles said. It was the weekend. Yesterday was a Friday, meaning… “today is Saturday” he muttered out. It's Saturday. There _are_ big plans for Saturday. He glances at his wall clock and everything starts to clear out...

Then he remembers.

Suddenly, Derek is cursing the entire fucking universe because he’s still in bed and his sister and uncle are scheduled to arrive in his apartment in, _shit_ , an hour. And his family is very much known for their punctuality.

Derek curses again.

“Oh damn. Was there a lapse in memory? Is this a case of drunken, mistaken identity?” Stiles croaked, trying to back away from Derek’s reach “oh god please don’t kill me please please please…”

The junior snaps out of his meltdown and shakes his head, moving his arms and wrapping them loosely around Stiles’ waist to keep him from escaping “No. You, here, is absolute perfection…but also worse timing ever…” he rests his forehead against the base of the neck and tries to inhale deeply.

The younger one’s lips purse in a line “what’s up?”

Derek scrunches his nose and squeezes his eyes tight “My sister and uncle are coming over to stay here for a few days…I think” he starts, then leans back to glance at his wall clock. “And they’re supposed to arrive in about fifty-eight minutes”

“Is that an estimate or an actuality?”

“My family is very punctual”

“Okay then!” Stiles said in a loud voice, shoving at Derek’s face and squirming to free himself of Derek’s hold.

“ _Godammit Stiles_ , will you stop moving around _too much?_ ” he gritted out, closing his eyes as if in pain. Well, mentally-speaking that is.

“Huh? What?”

“Stop. Moving” Derek growled.

“Woah there. I just want to… _oh wait_ ” Stiles said, finally understanding. He sat still, but moved forward a bit, rocking his hips in the process.

“Stilinski!” Derek said in a low voice

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to! Honestly!” he said, but there was a grin spreading on his face. Fucker.

Derek swallowed “I hate you, did you know that?”

“Oh hey! The feeling is finally mutual! Let me just—” he tried to pry Derek’s hold on his waist, but his entire body felt like jello about a three seconds later. “U-ugh D-Derek…s-stop it”

Apparently, Derek took this as the best time to lick a trail from the freshman’s collarbone up to the sensitive spot behind an ear. “We better get going, freshman” Derek whispered, before he loosened his grip on his victim.

“How do you expect me to actually stand up _after what you just did_?” Stiles answered back.

“Because if you don’t get up right at this second, I may actually entertain the idea of tying you up and shoving you inside my closet or something”

At this, Stiles nimbly got on his feet and wobbled towards the bed “I have to go now”

“Right you do” Derek answered, also standing up and throwing his sheets on his bed. He spotted Stiles pulling up his pants as he searched for his things. “Shirt, shirt, shirt…”

“Just go and grab anything”

“I am _not_ wearing your merchandise!” Stiles answered, as he ran around the apartment and finally found his shirt. He quickly wore it and started to look for his shoes

Derek observed while wearing a random shirt then continued with cleaning up the place. He dumped his clothes in the hamper by his bathroom then glanced at Stiles, as the other was busy smoothening out the creases on his gray shirt.

He almost yelled when he heard a loud sound, similar to an airhorn. There was a tapping sound afterwards, and he remembered that the sound was coming from his phone. Derek looked around and walked to his bed, seeing his phone angrily flash the words “HALES ARE IN TOWN. GET YO SHIT TOGETHER ALPHA” in bold letters.

“What's that?” he heard Stiles ask him from the other side of the room.

Derek picked up his phone and unlocked it, dismissing the reminder and checking for messages. A hand suddenly touched his bicep, making him turn his head.

“What was it?” Stiles asked again, gesturing at the phone.

“Just a, rather truthful reminder of reality” he turned around then slid his phone in his pocket.

Stiles licked his lips, hand still on the junior's bicep. “I…really have to go now”

Derek frowned deeply, feeling really bad for the not-so-sudden turn of events. “I'm sorry” he said, averting his eyes away.

This sight urged Stiles to step into Derek's space and bump his nose on his chin. “Unavoidable, as you understood. That's the reality. Thus” he stretched the last word “I really have to go, okay sourwolf?”

An eyebrow quirked up at the strange nickname but Derek decided to let it slide. “Can’t I get you a cab at least?”

“No, no! Walking’s good! I like to walk”

Derek smiled a bit “you have no idea where you are right now, don’t you?”

“Is that significant?”

“You can’t just walk to the campus from my place. It’s crazy to do so” he settled his hands on Stiles’ hips “let me get you a cab. It’s the least I can do, since I can't leave…”

Stiles sighed, but muttered an “okay” afterwards. Derek grabbed his phone again and pressed a few buttons, bringing it against his ear as he waited for the other line to pick up. “Cab to the apartment. Right now” he said, dropping the call and attempting to smile.

“Can I ask who that was?”

“No”

“Can I _know_ who that was?”

Derek thought for a moment, doing a mock-pout before he answered “Someday. Maybe”

A standard ring tone sounded, and Derek sighed. “You have everything?” he asked, catching himself easing on his usual tone.

“Yup. Just phone and wallet and glasses...” Stiles answered, wiping his palms on his pants.

“Okay” the junior said, then stepped back and held out a hand. Stiles immediately took it, and silently they walked towards the door. Derek hesitated at the doorknob, but yanked it open after a second, knowing that he couldn't stall any further.

Stiles took a step out of the door, but immediately turned around “I guess this is goodbye then?”

“No. I hope not. I'll see you around, Stiles”

Stiles nodded then automatically replied “bye Alpha”

The junior blinked, then shook his head “It's Derek. When it's just us, okay?”

“Alright. I'll...see you some time, Derek” Stiles said. He bit his lower lip nervously before turning and walking down the narrow hallway.

There was a lingering gaze that Derek allowed himself, before he clutched on the door tightly and started to close it. However, his eyes spotted Stiles slowing down until he stopped and faced him.

“Derek!” Stiles called out, just when he was about to turn the corner.

The athlete raised an eyebrow, already getting more and more accustomed to said voice calling his name so casually.

“I still hate you”

Derek shook his head “noted, freshman” he answered, and he got a stupid grin before Stiles continued walking and was finally gone.

He closed the door and turned to look at his apartment. The place was quite tidy, until his gaze landed on his messy bed. He’d do just about anything so that he could dive in those still-warm sheets.

But nope. As if on cue, his phone sounded, and he answered it after the second ring.

“Hello?" 

“Well, this is a surprise. You’re already awake? Excited to see us, then?” Laura’s amused voice was heard loud and clear.

“Not sure if ‘excited’ is the best word, but whatever. I’m awake now” Derek said, rolling his shoulders to get rid of the sleep kinks.

“To business then. We’re just sending Julio up with our bags, then we’ll head out for breakfast. Need to start early”

“So, you’re not coming up here?”

“Why?” Laura’s tone picked up “Is there something we should see this early in the morning?”

Derek scolded himself to keep calm, as he had zero intentions of letting his sister in on the result of his after-party celebration “No. It’s just that I still have to shower and get changed still”

“Well…” there was a moment’s pause, like Laura was thinking “we’re still stopping for some gas, and Peter has to drop off a package at the main house. Might take roughly forty minutes to an hour”

He had to sigh in relief, because that was at least ten minutes late compared to his actual estimate. “Okay. So I’ve got time to get ready properly, right? Does Peter need me to bring anything?”

“Hold on” Laura said, as she asked the question at her end of the line. “He said to bring the red book. And your brain”

“Um…”

Laura laughed, and Derek furrowed his eyebrows “I was the one who added the last bit, you idiot”

“I got that part, actually” Derek smiled a bit

“Whatever. Look, gotta go okay? Go and make yourself presentable. We’ll see you later, Senior Alpha”

Derek opened his mouth to reply, but he heard a click and the call ended. He looked at his phone, took note of the time, then walked over to his bed to tidy up the sheets.

He just had the best night of his college life last night. A part of him still couldn’t believe that he was able to let go and enjoy, which probably explained why he was quite handsy, and would touch Stiles as much as he could.

But the fun had to stop sometime. It was something he learned to get used to when he started high school. When he was forced into family affairs and traditions. And as much as he hated it, he had to go back into alpha mode once again.

He walked to his bathroom, determined to call back the higher level of being a Senior Alpha, as expected from his family. The Alpha Derek that his school knows about is too laid-back compared to the real one.

His determination instantly crumbled once he was under the coot jet of water, and kept on imagining long and thin fingers encircle his wrists and play with his hand. If he thought really hard, he also remembered the feel of soft lips against his own, a trail of smoke around them.

“Fucking shit Stiles. You’re going to kill me” he muttered at his tile wall in utter frustration, hand reaching down to stroke his growing hard-on.

It took him ten minutes to shower and get ready.

  


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello! 
> 
> Here we go again everyone (is anyone still out there reading this fic?). There was a big typhoon in my country recently, and because I didn't have any internet connection for a couple of days, I decided to write and write and update yaaay. Also, I just realized that my last update was from March so to make up for whatever, here's two chapters. Added some footnotes at the end of this one too.
> 
> (I'm about to name-drop here, and I've gone through this bit several times already. Please see my [disclaimer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/940258/chapters/1832454) from ch.1 before you decide to shoot me) 
> 
> A more serious side to Derek coming right up! And more info about the Hales. Thanks to you for still bearing with this fic. Really, thanks. :)

“Um, yes. Just here's fine” Stiles said, feeling the cab halt at the corner. His dormitory was about a block away, but he really wanted to avoid unnecessary gossip about him taking a damn cab home. He fished out his wallet from his back pocket, but the driver noticed him and spoke “your fare's been paid for earlier”

 Stiles looked up, and saw the driver looking at him trough the rear-view mirror. “Oh. Alright. So I just go?”

 “Unless we're in the wrong street still, then yes”

 He managed a hollow laugh, amused that the driver was humoring him. “Right. Thanks a lot then” he said, as he reached for the door and got out of the vehicle.

 Walking down the sidewalk was uneventful. There were very few students left on-campus, and the only reason that Stiles and his other friends were left here was because of the stupid freshman fair. It was actually fine with him to stay (not that he wasn't missing home or anything), but because he had a great set of friends who were just as nerdy as he was.

 Not to mention that staying for another week gave a bit more time to play along with whatever game he and Derek are on.

 He felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of Derek. What in the world happened last night, that one he still had to sit down and figure out properly. He recalls getting tipsy because of all of the drunken gummies Danny kept on feeding them, there was a pretty brunette who was somewhat flirting with him, then Derek _suddenly_ happened and...

 “Oh my god Stiles what the fuck happened?” he asked himself out loud, just before he crossed the street.

 He must've look really stupid, standing just at the edge of the sidewalk in front of a pedestrian lane and _not_ crossing. He was wracking his brain, trying his best to recall the events that happened.

 But his brain was practically mush right now, capable only of basic human functions like breathing, walking, and locating his room and bed. Giving up on his quest for answers, he finally crossed the street and walked towards his dormitory building.

 He took out the spare key that he kept in his wallet, slid it in the doorknob, then walked inside his dorm room.

 “Hey Phil, sor—” he couldn't finish his sentence as he was literally tackled to the ground, making him fall backwards and land on his ass just outside the door.

 “OH GOD STILES YOU'RE ALIVE I AM SO HAPPY”

 “gerroff me” his voice was muffled

 “STILES I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE”

 “Off me now” Stiles managed to say, moving his head to the side to look at his attacker.

 “ARE YOU OKAY?”

 Stiles sighed tiredly “I will be, if you just _get off me right now and let me fucking breathe man_ ”

 “Uh-oh. Sorry, just...” Scott answered, hauling himself up and helping his best friend up from the floor.

 “In. Now” he told Scott, walking inside and instantly spotting Philip by the desk.

 “Well, the great scorer finally comes home” Philip says, watching Stiles faceplant on the bed.

 “Oh my god Philip. What is my puppy-bestfriend doing in our room?” Stiles said, turning his head to face his roommate.

 “He sort of just barged in the room this morning...”

 “I DID NOT” Scott retorted

 “...looking for you. Then when he realized that you weren't here, he started freaking out. Almost called your father” he continued, like he didn't hear Scott at all

 “No...” Stiles gasped, then threw a dirty look at Scott. “Did you call him?”

 “I was about to! But Philip kept on telling me to sit and wait a while, then you arrived...”

 Stiles felt immensely relieved, glancing at Philip “oh, bless your soul”

 “Why thank you” was the gentle reply. He turned on his seat, seeing Scott settle down on the floor and checking his phone, then averted his attention to Stiles once more. He just wanted to ask a million questions about his whereabouts last night, but also wondered if Stiles was comfortable talking about it with Scott.

 Philip narrowed his eyes, and tried to ask other things instead “Why are you so worried about your father finding out anyway?” he adapted a casual tone “is he going to get mad or something?”

 “I don't think so? But, he might freak out when he finds out that I didn't come home to my dorm”

 “So where were you last night then?” Scott had to ask.

 Stiles twitched, but moved his limbs around so it wasn't so obvious. He rolled on his back and threw his hands over his face “I was at the party, there were too many gummy shots, I went to the bathroom, and everything was pretty much hazy afterwards. I woke up with a semi-functioning brain, and walked over here” he mumbled, formulating a believable story. His brain was starting to hurt, and he just wanted to sleep again. Preferably, under a pile of pillows and sheets.

 “Okay” was Scott's simple answer. He stood up and walked over to Stiles' bed, sitting on the edge. “Good to see you back, man. Isaac is inviting all of us for one more game, and perhaps dinner. I think he's leaving the campus tomorrow afternoon”

 “Isn't he staying for the Spring Edge?” Philip asked

 Scott shrugged “looks like he won't. Maybe he got permission to leave? I dunno. We can probably ask him later or something” he prodded Stiles on the shoulder “Stiles. Good to go for tonight?”

 He heard Stiles grumble, so he looked at Philip instead.

 “I'll make sure to drag his ass later. What time will it be and where?”

 “Moonglade, at around five. I messaged Matt about it, and he said he'd follow”

 “Alright. Wanna hang around? But, I'll be busy finishing some reports and Stiles will be lousy company”

 “I heard that” Stiles mumbled lowly

 “Nah, maybe next time instead” Scott said, standing to stretch his arms up. “Our dorm has a scheduled inspection later, so I have to go back and fix my things” he casts a glance at his best friend, then nodded at Philip. “Later, then?”

 “Yup”

 Scott headed for the door, and closed it softly behind him. Philip turned back to his desk, shuffled a few papers around and finally grabbed his pencil and eraser.

 He then hurled the white eraser, aiming it for Stiles' head.

 “OW!” Stiles exclaimed, but didn't move otherwise.

 “You know you'll have to tell me what happened last night. You just disappeared, and of course I put this and that together”

 Stiles sighed. Just when he thought it was all over “Did anyone look for me?”

 “Other than Scott this morning, no one. Matt was crazy drunk and kept on yelling at other people. Danny was, well” he leaned on his chair, making it creak “he was, let's just say, playing on the other team and kept on hitting on random people. I think he even hit on me for a while” he mused for a while, then spoke after a second “don’t think you’re getting off easily. What in the world happened Stiles?”

 The other teen rolled on his back, blankets still covering his face. He stared up at the ceiling through his blue and green sheets. Where does he even start? “I was at the bathroom, trying to flush out the alcohol. When I got out, I saw Derek stalking towards me”

 He paused for a while, exhaling easily. His companion didn’t say anything, so he continued “he offered me some weed, and—”

 “Did you shotgun with Derek Hale?” Philip asked, making it sound like an important question

 “Can you explain that to me again? I don’t exactly rememb—”

 “Shotgunning” Philip cut him off “is the act of smoking weed by sharing a puff between open mouths”    He sounded entirely bookish, and but somehow Stiles was able to concentrate and understand well.

 “Right. Thanks for that, man” Stiles said, then threw the covers down to his neck “basically, as what I can remember; we shotgunned, Derek crossed some boundaries, I _might have_ giggled like a high and drunk teenager, then we left”

 “Then you left” Philip repeated. “Any idea where?”

 Stiles blew some air through his nose, before he answered “his apartment, apparently. Which, by the way, is crazy far from the campus”

 There was a _click_ , as Philip righted the chair. He scooted nearer Stiles, then spoke  “Why are you back here then?”

 Brown eyes peered at him “I knew that you’d go looking for me…and also Scott” Stiles said, playing with the hem of the blanket “and Derek had family stuff to attend to. Had to send me home in a cab”

 At this, Stiles almost jumped when he heard the slow, loud clap from Philip “what now?”

 “Bravo, my friend. Bravo. You think you’ve tamed down the Alpha direwolf?”

 He stops and thinks at Philip’s words. For some reason, his mind _finally_ registers what really happened when he arrived at Derek’s place. For all the hard muscles and strong personality, he enjoyed seeing a softer and gentler side of the senior. His touches were desperate like Stiles’ own, but Derek’s had a tinge of concern and hesitation, almost like he was afraid that he’d break Stiles.

 But somehow, Stiles felt an underlying trace of doubt. There really were a lot of obstacles that he’d have to face if he were to continue this with the lacrosse captain. He knew too little about the other, but from the information that he had, this was too much of a long shot.

 “I dunno” he whispered, somehow fearing the words that he spoke

 Philip shrugged “Well, I hope you figure it out soon enough. ‘Cause how I see it, you two are really in to each other. Perhaps to a point that you’ll be able to face whatever that comes your way. It’s just going to take a lot of work, but knowing you Stiles, you’ll be able to pull through”

 Stiles nodded absentmindedly “that’s a lot of profound shit, but I only understood half of what you said dude”

 “Go the fuck to sleep, Stiles. I’ll wake you up in a few hours” Philip said, catching Stiles smile at him before he rolled on his other side and snored lightly.

   

\---  
  
  


Derek walked through the lobby of his apartment and stepped out of the front doors. He immediately spotted a black Benz parked casually in front of the landing, unable to stop himself as his fingers tightened on the two notebooks that he held.

 Going down the steps, a tall, handsome man in a black uniform approached and greeted him. “Good afternoon, Sir Derek” he said cheerfully

“Where to, Julio?” Derek answered

“I was instructed to bring you to _La Chalet_ for lunch, Sir” the man answered

He nodded, then gestured behind him “Aren’t you bringing up the bags inside?”

“No sir. There’s really no time, and it won’t be good if you’re any later. I’ll just go back here after”

“Wait a second” he peered at the darkened windows of the vehicle “are they inside?”

Julio led Derek closer to the vehicle “Er- no Sir. There was a change in plans. Sir Peter got stuck in a meeting, so they couldn’t make it back here.” he finished, as he popped the door open.

Derek slid inside the car and waited for Julio to do the same. The drive was short, as Derek stared out at the moving cars and building out of his window.

Soon enough, the car came to a stop in front of a rustic-looking building. It had a low and flat roof, with extended rafter tails and a few hanging plants. A few cars were parked outside, and Derek had a strong feeling that this place was exclusive to a certain class of people.

“We’re here, Sir” Julio prompted

“Okay” Derek answered, reaching a hand for the door. He paused then dug into his pocket “oh right. You’re going back to the apartment, right? Here are the keys” he handed Julio his set of keys, as he watched the driver accept them and put them in the middle console. “Just leave the bags inside the guest room, okay?”

“Understood, sir”

“One more thing” Derek said, as he leaned closer to the front passenger seat to look at the driver “thanks for the cab emergency this morning. Did you tip the driver beforehand?”

Julio glanced at Derek, not moving his head “Yes, Sir. I…had a feeling that you would want me to do so”

“Excellent. I really did. And, I’d really appreciate it if you don’t mention this to anyone”

“Of course sir. Your secret is safe with me. I promise”

Satisfied with the answer, Derek said his thanks then exited the vehicle. He looked up at the sign in gold, boldletters, set upon an archway entrance. He walked over to the front doors and looked around.

The place reminded him too much of a Swiss house, very much like the pictures he received of his cousin’s house up in the Alps. The walls were painted white, with wooden panels thrown here and there. Large lamps hung over each table, and the ceiling had a different shine compared to the flooring. It had a really warm and cozy feel to it, but Derek only felt more apprehensive than relaxed.

Someone waved his over from his far right, so he turned and immediately spotted his sister. He rolled his shoulders then headed for the table at the farthest corner of the entire restaurant. As he came closer, he saw his uncle talking to two other men, while his sister sat beside a woman who looked vaguely familiar.

Derek stopped at the head of the table and stood there awkwardly. His uncle took notice immediately and stood up to welcome him “Derek! You’re finally here” he extended a hand out.

“Good afternoon, Grand Master Hale” Derek greeted, grabbing his uncle’s hand and doing their customary handshake.

Peter tugged at Derek’s hand, making the younger one walk to his side. He clapped a hand on his shoulder then addressed the two other men in the table “Grand Archon John Certeza and Grand Master Kevin Hastings, I present to you Senior Alpha Derek Hale, my nephew” his voice carried a lot of pride.

Derek bowed his head at the two others, immediately understanding the weight of their titles.

“Your uncle has said many great things about you, Senior Alpha. And I can clearly see that he has trained you well” John said, leaning forward on the table and placing the tips of his fingers together.

“I thank you, Sire” Derek replied, straightening up as he did so

“Please, sit down. Eat something first” he continued, gesturing to the entire table.

Derek looked at Peter, and he saw a quick nod before he moved towards the empty chair beside the wall. However, just as he was about to sit down, he felt a sharp kick to his shin, prompting him to look up and glare at his sister.

“How about me? Don’t I get a kiss?” Laura cooed

He couldn’t help the smirk that crept to his mouth “Good afternoon to you too, Lady Chancellor Hale. It’s good to see you once again”

“Ooh, tone down on the sarcasm, Derek. It’s quite unfitting”

“Just like your general snarky behavior is unfitting of your personage?”

“Well, excuse _you_ ”

“You started it”

“Children…” Peter warned

The siblings immediately bowed their heads and shut up, as Derek finally took his seat. Laura then cleared her throat “Right. Derek you remember Chelsea Ventura, right? She’s the VP of my chapter assigned to this area” she gestured at the woman sitting beside her.

“Why, of course I remember her. How have you been?” he asked, smiling at the other woman.

“Still as charming as ever, aren’t you Senior Alpha?” Chelsea replied _,_ nodding her head “I’m quite okay, thank you for asking. Good that you remember me too, otherwise I’d have to kick your ass until you remember”

He raised his eyebrow slightly “I guess you’ve gone through an intense training with the Lady Chancellor then”

“She learned from the very best” Laura answered, as she passed him a basket of sausages and potatoes. Derek helped himself to a generous serving, taking a sip of water before relaxing a bit and enjoying his meal.

He kept an attentive ear to the discussion around him, needing to be alert when his named was called. He observed his sister flipping her wooden coaster over and over again, a habit she had ever since she was just a child. It made him relax even more, contented to have family close by.

“You’re studying at Berkeley, are you not, Derek?”

He looked up to see Kevin staring right at him. He blinked then gulped down his mouthful of potatoes, wiping his mouth with a napkin “Yes, Sire. Currently on my junior year and taking up Sociology”

“I see. Have you, by any chance, encountered some of my pledgees for the year?”

Derek took a moment to think, recalling for any incidents of the like. No wonder Kevin’s name rang a distant bell. “Why yes. I believe I have encountered your pledgees…” he started to tick off his fingers “George, Jack, and Miguel”

“Those three? That’s interesting…” Kevin commented lightly “And, what is your assessment for the trio?”

Derek felt more sets of eyes looking at him, and he instantly knew that the most intense one came from his uncle. He didn’t allow his voice to waver one bit “They actually did well. Executed the customary protocol for a Senior Alpha and welcomed me and my companions as we entered _The Den_. They were also highly accommodating up until we finished and stepped out”

Kevin nodded, as he picked up his coffee mug “Well, that’s great to hear from you. I’ll have to check up with them when I call our next meet”

“Glad to be service, Grand Master Hastings” Derek bowed his head again

“You have done well, Senior Alpha. I thank you” Kevin answered, extending a hand, which Derek immediately gripped.

Everything else melted into less serious matters, like the progress of their joint projects or the possibility of a new recruitment scheme. Peter checked up on his regulations, asking questions and answering some others directed to him

Derek finished up his meal, listening to Laura and Chelsea’s conversation and dropping a few comments whenever he could.

Finally, John stretched up his arms then stood up. “Well, this was really good. Thank you for accommodating us on the day of your arrival, Master Hale”

Peter stood, and was mirrored by Kevin. “Absolutely no worries about it. I enjoyed our time together” he then looked over at the younger superior “Leaving also, Master Kevin?”

“Yes, yes. Still have to visit the other houses today” he checked his watch then looked at Derek. “Alpha Hale, shall you be attending the Freshman Spring Edge the week after next?”

“Yes I shall, Sire. But it’s for the foundation, not really for—”

“For this business, yes I understand” Kevin smiled “Well, I shall be seeing you then”

Derek pursed his lips before replying “I look forward to it, Grand Master Hastings”

The three superiors all faced each other, and with a final bow to one other, the two guests left the restaurant then went their separate ways. Peter sighed loudly, visibly relaxing by the way his shoulders drooped a bit. He turned to sit on his chair, then ran a hand through his brown hair. “You did great, Alpha. I’m proud of you”

Derek had to smile at the compliment “Thanks, uncle. Would you mind clarifying things later?”

“Have you got any questions for now?” Peter asked, gesturing for a waiter to come by their table.

“Did you forget about the notebook?”

“Oh, that” Peter said, speaking to the waiter for a moment for the bill and a refill of water, before facing his nephew “no I didn’t. I asked you to bring that because you shouldn’t leave that whenever we have meets. And also, sometimes you need solid proof about your status because believe it or not, a lot of people doubt your title, judging from your age and assumed capabilities”

The younger Hale sighed. He often forgot about small things like those existed, but has heard enough rumors and insights from ordinary people to remember well enough.

He shrugged off his worries then spoke again “is there anything else for today?”

Peter took a sip from his water, eyes going through their bill “I was supposed to meet with any of the university's program managers, but somehow _no one_  can find time to actually meet with me” he pouted, inserting his credit card with the bill and handing it back to their waiter. 

“Well, it's a weekend. And everyone is busy with grades and last minute projects”

The older Hale rolled his eyes “Thus, _you'll_ have to update me on what you know, since you're involved with all the planning. I also need to know what you plan for that day”

“I was actually thinking of—”

“Nope” Peter said, raising a hand and prompting Derek to stop talking “we'll continue this discussion at the apartment. We'll probably need some beer and…” he thought for a second “Maybe something Spanish. I’m craving for some Spanish chorizos”

Derek nodded “I’m sure Julio can suggest something”

Peter smiled “ah yes. We need an entire platter of meat then, sounds good?”

“Y-yeah” Derek answered. It _did_ sound good to him, but he'll have to slow down on the alcohol. He then remembered their other companions “Laura?” he asked, turning to his sister.

“Oh no. Don't mind me. I'll hitch a ride with Chels, as we have to visit the other chapter houses” she stood up, nodding dismissively as Chelsea asked to take a phone call “I’ll be back for dinner though. I hope”

“Okay. I'll see you later then?”

Laura smiled, as she felt her friend touch her left elbow. “We'll be taking our leave now. Uncle. Derek”

“Sirs” Chelsea chirped beside her.

“Dismissed, ladies. Be careful” Peter said, waving them off.

They bowed their heads then left, walking side by side until they exited through the doors. Peter waited for his card to be handed back to him, then signed the bill with a flourish. He then stood up and looked expectantly at Derek. “Aren't you moving from there?”

Derek immediately stood up, grabbing his notebook then followed his uncle as they strode out of the restaurant.

They rode the car and stopped by a few places. There was the deli place that Derek used to frequent last semester. They also stopped by the grocery a couple of blocks from the apartment, and picked up a few things. When they arrived back at the apartment, Peter asked Julio to have a few drinks, which the man tried to decline but since he was practically working _for_ Peter, everything said had to be done.

“You sure you're not busy?” Derek whispered to Julio, as he helped bring up the groceries while Peter went ahead to the elevators.

Julio smiled “it’s okay, sir. It would be nice to...unwind with Sir Peter and you”

Derek nodded, knowing that the driver needed a bit of relaxation time. He never knew what his uncle had him do every day, but he liked the driver and was actually a nice guy. It would be nice to spend time with Julio, because he's been too busy with his campus life that he never really took time to appreciate the constant presence. A reliable and indispensable presence.

“What exactly do you do for my uncle anyway?” Derek asked conversationally, looking sideways

“Oh. Just errands. He also has jurisdiction over this area, but he can't be here all the time”

He knew he shouldn't over-step, but he continued “what kind of errands? For the society or the foundation?”

Julio shifted on his feet, looking at the glowing elevator buttons. He spoke in a clear and polite way “Sir Derek. As much as I want to answer your questions and tell you, I am in no position to say anything else” he then looked up when the elevator gave a shrill ' _ding_ ', then he stepped aside to hold the doors open. “After you, Sire”

The lacrosse captain walked out of the elevator, unable to prevent himself from feeling annoyed. For some reason, the family secrets were starting to bug him, even if he never bothered all this time. He wanted answers now, and he wasn't getting them from the one person he _thought_ he could squeeze them out of.

Thus, when he opened the door to his apartment and saw his uncle milling around the kitchen, whistling a happy tune, he immediately said “I have a ton of questions and I want answers _now_ ”

Peter looked up from the kitchen drawer that he was going through with a confused look “say what?”

“Questions. I need answers from you now”

His uncle smiled slowly, closing the drawer then dusting off his hands. He then braced his arms on the counter then shrugged “Okay. Maybe we can all settle in the living room first? I really want to get a bit of rest Derek. Grab the beers, Julio. I'll get the food”

Derek stood unmoving, watching Julio move towards the kitchen to deposit the groceries, fixing it as he went along. Peter grabbed a few plates from the cabinets, and was now searching for the other snacks from the new groceries.

Not knowing what to do, Derek walked to his room instead to change into some house clothes. He wanted to take a shower first, but he really needed to clear his head out with all these questions about his family's business.

When he stepped back into the living room, Peter and Julio were talking amongst themselves, a can of beer in their hands. He walked over to the couch and sat beside Julio, accepting the beer that was handed to him by the smiling man.

“So, you were saying something about 'questions'?” Peter prompted, after Derek took a deep swig of beer. “Fire away, my dear nephew”

“Julio has been working for you since god-knows-when. He's been around me since I moved here. What exactly does he do?” Derek asked, completely ignoring the fact that the subject of his inquiry was sitting beside him.

Peter looked at Julio and raised an eyebrow. “He's asking about you. Answer it”

Julio twisted the can of beer in his hand, nodding once before answering “I actually work for the foundation. However, Sir Peter decided to absorb me into the society, so I also help him with that”

“Nice and concise. I like that” Peter commented, then looked at Derek. “Just as he said, Julio works for the foundation. He first worked for your grandfather, handling the paperwork of new applicants. After a couple of years, he was transferred to assist Tony¹ but he _refused_ to accept help”

Derek shrugged “Yeah. Well, why would he need help in the first place? Lacrosse duties are ridiculously easy”

Peter merely rolled his eyes “you really _are_ his son, aren't you?” he sipped on his beer before continuing, “I'm not sure if Tony told you this, but he also works for the foundation. He handles the finances, which is the reason why pops² wanted Julio assigned to him. Tony really needed a close right-hand man”

“Wait. Finances? Dad handles the money?” because holy shit, Derek was extremely stupid for not spotting such an obvious responsibility. The high-security vault in their basement should've been a dead giveaway, if not for Laura's stories that their house was the only one with a large enough basement to actually store such a thing.

“Yes, Derek. Your dad handles that part of the foundation. You'll probably handle it too when you come of age”

“So...” Derek started, trying to string together his newly-acquired information “Dad's the finance...boss of the foundation, Julio here works for both the foundation and the society, and you...”

“...the Grand Master of Alpha Delta Nu, and because of this, I also need Julio to run errands for me. C'mon Derek don't tell me you're getting this _just now_?”

“Well, I was primarily wondering about Julio's exact job, but apparently there's an entire network of information that has been kept away from me” the younger Hale stated, frowning as he played with the tab on the can.

Peter sighed “I am only telling you this because you asked. Ideally, you are to be briefed about everything after college, but I think it's good that you have an idea already” he leaned forward then looked at his nephew “Let's talk about you. And your plans for the fair, okay?”

Their conversation switched to Derek's entire schedule and everything that he was getting himself involved in. Peter was mostly concerned about the application process, going over it many times until Derek was able to repeat everything that his uncle said in verbatim.

When he was deemed clear and ready to handle everything, Peter eased back on his chair and propped his feet up on the table. He closed his eyes and started to hum a soft tune, but stopped short and sat up straight, reaching inside his pants pocket for his phone.

Derek was about to ask what was wrong when Peter stood up and put his phone to his ear, walking towards the window. He was nodding and only speaking a few words at a time. The call ended quickly, with Peter saying “I will be there ASAP” before he let his hand fall and he gripped his phone tighter.

“Julio. Let's go”

“Sir?” the driver perked up, back straightening

“The main house. There are visitors”

“Yes, Sir” Julio replied, standing up and leaving his beer on the table. He bowed respectfully at Derek, before he exited the apartment, presumably to get the car.

Derek was suddenly alert “Should I accompany you, Grand Master?” he urged himself to stand, but stopped when Peter held up a hand

“There is no need, Alpha. I will handle this myself. Hopefully, it will be quick enough that I won't feel it at all” he walked towards the guest room and emerged after a minute with his black overcoat slung over his arm. He nodded at Derek, before he exited the apartment without a word more.

The door closed, and Derek leaned back on the sofa, releasing a long and loud breath. A moment ago he was with two other people and learning about family secrets, then the next he was all alone and dealing with a ton of fresh information and a table of food and beer. He had _no idea_ what time Laura was coming back, and Peter just left him. He then dusted off his hands and  stood up, intent on fixing up the apartment.

He allowed himself a hearty laugh when he ended up sitting back down and grabbing another beer, popping the tab open. “What the heck. I probably deserve a break from everything I learned today”

His brain filed away everything family-related, random thoughts passing him by at times.

  
-

[Footnotes]:

¹ _Tony Hale_ \- Derek’s father and Peter’s older brother

² _‘Pops’_ \- Peter’s affectionate name for their father, Marcus Oliver Hale

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

“Derek?”

“Hmm?” he turned to see his sister looking at him from the kitchen counter “oh hey. Anything wrong?”

“Peter took the room and somehow fell asleep. He must be really exhausted from the entire day of travelling and meets that he just crashed when he entered the room”

Derek nodded, taking another sip from his beer “in that case, you can take my bed. I still have an extra sleeping bag somewhere so…”

Laura had to chuckle “look at you, offering your bed up to me now”

He looked at her pointedly “You’re my sister, okay. Plus, you are _still_ my superior. And guest”

“Yeah, right” she answered lightly, walking toward the couch and plopping beside him. She was wearing cotton sleep pants and a sleeveless top, both worn out from excessive usage. She snuggled beside him then muttered “Thanks. Anything interesting I missed while I was gone this afternoon?”

Derek thought for a moment, lips pursed on the edge of his beer can “not much I think. We just talked about the status of his regulations. He explained a few new things, then I also updated him on the program and their plans for the following week”

“Why? What’s happening?”

“There’s a…” he couldn’t help but grimace the slightest bit “freshie fair coming up, and of course, that’s just the standard cover-up for ‘recruitment week’” he glanced at her “you do know about that, right?”

She waved a hand “yeah. We participate in those events, but we usually pick which fair to join. I haven’t heard of any plans from Chelsea though”

“Well, Peter has tasked me to handle the freshie fair this year. Thinks I can handle it”

“Are you recruiting?”

Derek glanced at her “No. Of course not. Peter’s sending someone in to do it” he shrugged “I meant for the program. Just hand out flyers and explain things. Pretty easy, actually. Plus, I’ll be sharing a booth with Jackson, who basically did this for the past two years”

“For the school of law, right?”

“Yup. Isn’t that crazy? I mean…who would’ve thought that he’d be brilliant in law, huh?” he leaned his head on the cushions, resting his can of beer on his knee

Laura sighed, playing around with his long brown locks “freshie fair, huh?” she mumbled

_‘This won’t be good’_ Derek told himself, anticipating the shoe to drop

His sister then turned her entire body to face him “how’s your ‘freshie’ then?” she finally said, grinning widely and seeing her brother shut his eyes as if to avoid the question “and don’t think I forgot that _one_ conversation we had about said person…”

Derek sipped the remainder of his beer, then attempted to stand up “right. I’ve got to find those sleeping bags now”

“Not so fast Alpha lover!” the female exclaimed, instantly grabbing Derek’s forearm and tugging him down to the couch again. Derek landed with a soft _thump_ , and Laura unfolded her legs to stretch over her brother’s lap. “Now, sit yourself there and tell me _everything_ ”

“Everything?” Derek echoed

“Yes!”

“No!” he found himself saying

“Really touchy, ain’t we?” Laura commented, draping an arm lazily over the backrest. “Fine. Whatever you can tell me then. Do you want me to walk you over the things I need to know?”

He mumbled, unable to form a decent reply. His brain was trying to filter out his ‘Stiles-related’ thoughts into two separate columns: ‘shareable’, and ‘bane-of-his-life-if-known’. He was debating whether releasing Stiles’ name fell in the latter category when Laura nudged his thigh with the heel of her foot.

“Name?” she prompted

_’Great’_ “Uh, can we skip that part first?” he tried

“Fair enough. We can go back to that later then. Age?”

“Pretty sure it’s 19”

“Oh lucky you that that’s legal age already. College and department?”

“Media Studies…College of Letters and Sciences”

“Again, lucky! Same college as you” she was definitely having fun. “Let’s see…any physical or mental problems?”

He turned his head to look at his sister, raising an eyebrow at her “is that even a valid question?”

“What?” her voice rose “it is! I have to know what kind of person you’re dealing with. It’s my duty as your older sister, okay?” she nudged his thigh again “I’m waiting”

Derek released a breath through his nose in mild annoyance “Hyperopia. Just not sure about the degree. Acts like a child and quite obsessed with board games”

“How is the last bit a problem exactly?”

“Could be a problem for you”

Laura was a bit thrown off with the last statement, sensing her brother’s change in mood “So what if she likes board games? It could be one of her hobbies. And at least she knows how to have fun, right?” she peered at Derek, who had his head bent down with a hand to his forehead. She thought of other safe questions to ask “height?”

Somehow, Derek still decided to indulge her “just a bit shorter than me, but I’m thinking about 5'8?”

“Hometown?”

“Beacon Hills…just a small town somewhere”

“Licensed driver?”

“I’m not sure about that, but the file said that there’s a blue jeep registered under his name” Derek said, then he stilled. “Wait”

But Laura, practiced stenographer and secretary ever since _she_ was ten, did not miss a beat. “I think I just figured out what you’re so worried about”

He grabbed the cushion behind his back and proceeded to smother his face with it. He was going to die now. Pretty sure of it.

Laura waited for a minute for things to settle down, before she asked in a gentle voice “Derek. What’s the name?”

He sighed dejectedly, lifting the cushion up an inch so that he could speak properly “his name is Stiles”

“Huh. What a strange name…” she commented lightly, then leaned forward to poke her brother’s arm “hey, what’s up?”

She didn’t get a response, which she totally expected, so she surged on. “Were you actually worried over Stiles’ gender? Do you see me freaking out here? Hellooooooo”

“I kept on thinking that you guys would never forgive me”

“Really, Derek? Really? You thought that your sudden gay crisis is such a big deal to me?”

He shook his head, then finally removed the cushion on his face “not just you. To the entire family”

Laura had to raise an eyebrow “so what if the Hales have a gay grandson or nephew or son? He’s an awesome lacrosse captain and an excellent Senior Alpha anyway. You win”

“I’m not really sure about that, Laura” he said

“Derek. Listen to me” she removed her legs from his lap and folded them in front of her. She then gripped on Derek’s forearm and squeezed it lightly, just to get his attention “we talked about this before. Just go for it, okay? Does he know that you exist?” then she shook her head “what am I saying? _Of course_ he knows you exist. If he doesn’t, I can ask a couple of my sisters and babies to kidnap and properly orient him of everything that is to know of Derek Hale”

He had to smile at his sister’s words “He _knows_ I exist, okay? And what is it with you guys and kidnapping him?”

“Oh snap. I’m not the first one who had that idea? Who beat me to it then?” she pouted

“Danny and Jackson”

“Hey! Your best friends know about you two! And they had the same idea as me! Really no problem here, Der” she drummed her fingers on his arm “hmm, what else then? Oh wait! I know”

He glanced at her and caught her grinning widely “oh god what is it?”

“Out of curiosity: just how _crazy_ are you about Stiles?”

“Are you really asking me that question?”

“Just answer the fucking question, Alpha”

He tried to think of a good instance that had enough measure “I missed lacrosse practice the day after I met him”

“That’s not so bad…”

“It was game day” he added with a grin

“Okay wow” she said “that’s really, wow. You’ve got your head above water here”

“Currently sinking, you mean”

Laura laughed out loud at that last comment, and Derek had to chuckle along with her. For some reason, hearing her laughter made him feel considerably better. But he still had to wonder if everything was really okay. “Are you sure that this is really okay?”

“Will you stop asking and wondering about that already?” she said sternly, twisting his arm for good measure. “If you haven’t noticed, the family’s pretty much open to strange and bizarre ideas. Thank god it’s the nature of our politics and business. I mean, Peter’s regulation about Senior Alphas and equivalents is a bit far-fetched but hey, it works” she suddenly yawned “I have one more question”

“No more” he answered, tugging his arm away from Laura’s grip and glad that she was getting sleepy already

“A while back you mentioned something about a ‘file’. What were you referring to,” another yawn “…exactly?”

He stood up slowly, pulling his sister up on her feet as he did so “I asked Danny to get his school records”

“How?”

“Hacked it” he said nonchalantly

“Good work boys” she said, following Derek towards his bedroom. “Bed” she muttered happily, walking towards the neat bed, but turned around and gave him an awkward hug “thanks brother-dear. Glad you were able to tell me about Stiles. And,” she pinched his cheek “I’m happy for you, okay?”

“Okay” he just agreed, then waited for her to drop her hands “thanks"

“See you in the morning” Laura mumbled, moving his covers aside and settling down.

Derek silently congratulated himself for changing his sheets this morning. He wouldn’t want his sister lying on the same sheets that Stiles was covered in too.

His brain automatically produced images of Stiles on his bed, Stiles without his shirt on, Stiles hiding under his covers, his long fingers running through Derek’s hair

“Okay that’s it I’m going to bed” he announces to the universe because really, just _when_ will the universe stop messing with his brain at the most inconvenient of times?

He walks over to his bathroom to brush his teeth and change into his sleep pants. He then spots his discarded sheets on top of the hamper lid, somewhat taunting him with even more memories.

He slept on his couch curled up in those same sheets, because why would he choose storage-smelling sleeping bags over sheets that a certain nerdy freshmen spent hours curled into?

 

\---

 

The next morning woke him up with sunlight, freshly brewed coffee, and _was that French Toast?_

Derek opened his eye blearily, squinting at the amount of sunlight inside his entire apartment. The first thought he had was “did my curtains burn while I was asleep?” because he remembers that day when he went shopping for those curtains. He had strongly insisted that he used blackout curtains, and nothing less. He even asked Julio to help him search for the right set.

But this was not the effect of his curtains. His head started throbbing as he forced his eyes to open, registering the lack of black sheets on his windows.

“Was there a fire? Where my curtains?” Derek groaned, pulling his blanket over his head to shield his eyes.

“Stop being such a vampire Derek, and hurry up here and eat” he heard his uncle’s voice float around from the general direction of the kitchen.

“No”

“Your sister made some waffles and bacon” Peter tried again

Derek’s stomach rumbled at those words. He kicked his sheets away then sat up, eyes still half closed. He has been away from his family’s cooking, and Laura makes great waffles.

Begrudgingly, he stood and walked towards the kitchen. Peter smiled, as he grabbed the pot of coffee and transferred it to the small breakfast table. Derek sat on one of the chairs and rubbed his forehead “where’s Laura?” he mumbled

“Showering”

“Already?”

“Derek. It’s eight in the morning. _Of course_ already”

It wasn’t Derek’s fault if he overslept due to exhaustion. Picking up a fork, he got three waffles and a piece of bacon. He chewed on the strip of meat as he drowned his waffles in syrup, completely ignoring his uncle’s sound of disgust.

“Anything planned out for today?”

Peter took a second before he replied “Nope. Still can’t talk to anyone, so I decided to just take a rest. I’ll conduct my business tomorrow instead. How about you?”

“Gotta work on school things, so I’ll probably swing by the department and other places” he said, cutting his waffles into smaller and uniformed pieces. He just had a handful of things to accomplish but maybe if he immersed himself in his work, he’d stop thinking about his freshie problem.

He snuffed then proceeded to eat his breakfast. He knew he could practically work at his apartment, but with his uncle hovering around him who knows if he’ll actually get anything done. At the corner of his eye, he watched as Peter grab two cups from one of the cabinets then walk back to the table.

“Why are you here anyway?” Derek had to ask, and if he sounded utterly rude, that was probably what the morning sunshine did to his brain.

Lucky for him, his uncle didn’t get offended easily. He just continued pouring a cup for himself then started adding sugar and cream. “I have business to attend to, for both the foundation and the society. You already know what I need to do for the foundation but—”

“…you never elaborated what you need to accomplish for the society” Derek finished, setting his knife and fork down to grab the empty cup in front of him. “Mind starting now then?”

Peter shrugged, as he sipped his coffee then spoke “well, as you’re aware, we don’t have any chapter houses or such like Laura’s group. It’s basically you and me now; you on any regular academic year. I am just here to make sure that everyone is complying with my regulations or they’ll have to face serious consequences”

“You are _also_ aware that hazing has been banned from the university since god-knows-when”

“Aha” Peter sounded amused “ _that’s_ what you know and think, but many still operate on traditions like hazing and public displays of humiliation. I basically turn to humiliation because it’s more fun than wasting cans of pellets on some silly neophyte”

Derek wanted to respond to that, but instead chewed on his inner cheek and kept his frustration in. That was one of the top things that he hated about the society: violence was rampant but kept under wraps so well. Derek could never forget the couple of sessions where he had to preside as Chief Initiator for a brother society. He was strictly under Peter's orders, and he had to accomplish that task for him to 'ascend' to Senior Alpha status. He got so angry that he almost hurled the paddle at Peter when he came by to check up on them.

He didn’t want to get into an argument with his highest superior now, especially when said superior is his blood relative. He averted his attention to pouring himself some coffee and dumping a teaspoon of sugar, concentrating on stirring the sweet crystals into nothing.

His raging heart immediately calmed down when Laura’s voice reached his ears, as she hummed a happy tune. She stopped right outside the guest’s bedroom then raised a finger “did I interrupt something?”

“Not at all, Laura. Come and sit with your pissed-off brother now. I’ll go and take a shower” Peter said, winking at Derek before he stood and passed Laura, closing the bedroom door after him.

“So, I’m guessing I just interrupted something extremely bad to start the morning with?” Laura said, sitting across Derek and frowning a bit.

“Oh, everything’s just fine. Just the regular dosage of secrets being dumped into my brain early in the morning” Derek muttered, hunching his shoulders as he blew on his coffee before taking a sip. He eyed his sister who was finally wearing casual clothes ever since she arrived “going out today?”

Laura looked up from where she was fussing over a creased pocket on her yellow sheer blouse. “Hmm? Oh…yeah. The girls and I are going out for brunch. Updates and other news that I probably need to squeeze out of them…”

Derek nodded absentmindedly “sounds good”

“How about you? Staying in for the day?”

“Well… _was_ , but I’m weighing out my other options right now because…” he jerked his head towards the guest bedroom, then rolled his eyes.

Laura smirked, taking a sip of water “I see. Where are you heading then? Out for lacrosse? Or a date at the library?” she winked at her last words

Derek narrowed his eyes at his sister, then raised an eyebrow. “Not exactly. But you just gave me a good idea to just go for a run maybe in the afternoon. Believe it or not, I still have a lot of things to do, so yes I’m heading for the library or the department for a bit of quiet time with my thoughts…”

“Not a date?”

“Definitely not a date. So stop badgering me about that Laura” Derek said firmly, drowning his remaining coffee in one gulp. “Want to hitch a ride with me? Or is someone picking you up?”

“Please” the female said, waving a dismissing hand. “Chelsea and Lily are picking me up, so I’ll be fine. Go along with your day; maybe I’ll see you later tonight again”

“Right. See you then” Derek said, then excused himself as he tidied up his own plate and cup then headed towards his bathroom so that he could get ready for his day.

 


End file.
